4 The Dance of Lords and Ladies
by AlyssC01
Summary: Set after Time walk Dance, Skyclone manages to trap Skyla in another dimension and it's up to a young sky dancer to save her. Reposting of an old fic, this should go quickly. Read and review please!
1. The Vanishing

_TITLE: To dance with Lords and Ladies. _

_AUTHOR: AlyssaC _

_EMAIL: Adventure _

_PAIRINGS: Hint of S\J and the usual A\B _

_SPOILERS: None that I know of. _

_RATING: PG-Little bit of minor language. _

_WARNINGS: Where sunscreen, look both ways before you cross the street and eat your veggies. Content warnings you say. Oh, sorry. Minor language but not enough to make your toes nails fall out. _

_STATUS: Complete – but under renovation at this very moment. _

_FEEDBACK: Please, please please!! Will do tricks for reviews. _

_DISCLAIMER: "Sniff-sniff" I don't own them, not even on tape. Skydancers are the property of… of… I can't remember but they're not mine. I don't make any money out of this and don't want to. I write for the fun not the profit. _

_All original characters and events are the property of the author and if she finds out that you stole them she'll kick you a…Ask before you want to use them. _

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the second posting of the fic that started my Skydancer fanfic history on Originally, this story was a type of stand alone fic but, under the encouragement of my original readers – Jewelgurl, Firedaughter(Edani) and Silverstorm I created a larger world for the Skydancers to play in. This story now links up with the three that followed before it, Feather in the Wind, The Sixth I Give you and Time Walk Dance. (To be read in that order). I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. _

**Chapter 1: The Vanishing. **

Queen Skyla Zavere, daughter of Lord Baeleur Zavere and Lady Aurian Du'mond and widowed wife to King Skyler Skyhawk, monarch of the Skyrealms, slowly walked to the main court her arms calmly slipped into her sleeves. She smiled to those who greeted her and whispered thanks to those who had congratulated her.  
Five years, she told herself. She had been queen for five years to the day.

She took a quiet breath, hoping to still the emotions in her heart.

It was a strange feeling, a mixed sense of accomplishment and loss, a terrible, terrible loss.

Five years ago, almost to the day – she lost her husband.

Five years ago she was running down these same halls having escaped the clutches of the palace guards who had tried to spirit her away to a safe haven. And running, running to a place where she could see her husband and stop him somehow or share his fate.  
He had not told her what he had intended to do when he gave her the Skyswirlstone for safekeeping, but she had seen it in his eyes and the thought had first driven her numb – then, as her personal guards had tried to whisk her off to safety, the thought of it drove her mad, causing her to fight them and break away so that she could follow her husband to the death she had seen in his eyes.

The halls had been deserted then, thrown into chaos by the attack that had almost proved to cripple the wingdom.

Skyclone had somehow managed to convince the water people, the Azurians, to join his campaign and they had proved to be a fierce force to fight. What's more, he seemed to have found a way to command some unnatural power that caused him to summon the demonic creatures they now knew as Hurricanes.

Her husband, although he refused to bargain the wingdom had told her that he wanted to negotiate with his brother and, when she had reached the windows of the main court – it had almost appeared as if that was what they were doing.

Queen Skyla closed her eyes, unable to shake the image of the two brothers facing each other out of her mind. They were too far for her hear what they were saying but she could see from her husband's body language that things weren't going well. Her hands clenched in her sleeves as she remembered gripping the railing on one of the balconies, watching her husband flew back a little and drew his father's scepter – the scepter empty of the Skyswirlstone. He turned his shoulder as if to use the stone – keeping the scepter's edge away from Skyclone so that he couldn't see that it was empty.  
Skyclone laughed and flew back as well forming between his hands a shield of a strange black and white light.

For a moment, both men hung as if frozen, then – Skyler spun quickly, aiming the scepter right as Skyclone. The older, heavier man braced himself for an attack that never came. Too late he realized that instead of attacking him his brother used the momentum of the throw to start spinning in the air. For a moment he looked puzzled, then bafflement turned to surprise and surprise quickly turned to fear as a searing light of spinning air enveloped his brother.

The death spin.

It was said that the magic came instinctively to those of the royal house in their hour of need, when they are willing to sacrifice everything they had for their kingdom, including their lives.

Few had ever had the need to use it, and of those few even less had managed to do it correctly. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.  
Whether or not they succeeded in the doing the death spin correctly, the person who did it always died.

Skyla, watching her husband in his final act, had screamed out a single word that seemed to echo through out the destroyed wingdom.  
No.

Then, when all was done and Skyclone and his demonic forces had vanished and the Azurians had retreated before the wingdom's army, and the people started filing out in the streets to start picking up their broken lives and the skirmish was over, over – she found herself on her knees at the balcony, staring at the blue stone in her hand, knowing that he was gone.

Her world erupted and she screamed again, over and over until her voice was hoarse, hugging the remnant of his life to her chest.

She stayed there until someone placed a bony arm around her shoulder and picked her up with a surprising show of strength for someone she had considered to be rather feeble.

The Tinker did not leave her side for two full weeks.

They officially coroneted her three days after her husband disappeared – five years ago to the day.

She had never felt reason to celebrate it, the loss and memories of that time overshadowing her desire to think of her accomplishments over the past few years.  
But, somehow this year, it felt better.  
For the first time, the loss of this time of year felt bearable.  
Tolerable.  
Almost manageable.

Queen Skyla smiled and allowed her attention to drift away from the darker corners of her soul and rather to the world around her.

The preparation for the evenings festivities were going well, Queen Skyla noted with a touch of pride as she looked around the hall.

Her Skydancers had done a wonderful job at organizing things and as she looked around she could see that everybody was doing some last minute ground work. She had decided to allow them to do the organizing of her anniversary festivities as an exercise to see how well they could cope with dealings inside the wingdom.

It proved to have rather fruitful results.

Camille was standing by the banquet table with a clipboard and a professional look on her face, double checking to see whether all the food she had ordered from the kitchens were there. The queen smiled to herself as she saw the girl look around and sneak a honey tart into her mouth.

Camille had a very active sweet tooth.

Angelica was doing her part by placing some finishing touches on the decorations. Her mother was an interior decorator and some of her talent had obviously rubbed off on her only child. Skyla had to admit the blond haired girl had a great eye for color. She liked the combination of gold's and greens that she had used. Although she had never come out and say it, green was her favorite color.

Queen Skyla moved to the other end of the room to where the orchestra was standing. Jade was in charge of the music and was currently having a quick chat with one of the musicians. When Queen Skyla walked by everybody stood to attention and made their separate bows and curtseys. Jade smiled and nodded at her.

"Everything's still going to plan Queen Skyla." She said warmly.

Queen Skyla smiled and nodded, touching Jade's shoulder in a kind gesture.

"There's never been a doubt in my mind that it will go otherwise Jade." She said with a smile. "Where are Slam, Breeze and Joanie? I have not seen them around."

Jade frowned slightly as she thought.

"Breeze and Slam are out checking the security." She said thoughtfully. "Or, at least they should be. And Joanie… Well, she's…" Jade's emerald green eyes scanned the great hall. Her eyes lid up as she spotted her friend. "She's over there by the fountain, checking out your presents."

Queen Skyla smiled slightly and nodded her thanks.

"Thank you." She said. "You're doing a wonderful job Jade, thank you very much."

Patting the young woman on the shoulder she went off to find her own.

Sure enough, Joanie was standing by the fountain, poking around the heap of packages. Her dark eyes were scanning them intently and every now and again she would stop and pick one up, run her hand over the top and put it back.

Queen Skyla smiled as she studied her adopted daughter. The girl was by far the shortest Skydancer ever to grace the skies of the wingdom. And for that matter, Queen Skyla thought with a touch of amusement, she was by far the shortest of temper as well. It didn't matter though. She was an excellent Skydancer; she had courage and heart.

No one could've wished for more.

Queen Skyla walked up behind her while she was fiddling with a packet wrapped in sky blue paper.

"Checking to see whether any of those are yours?"

The girl startled around and only the lightning reflexes she was known for stopped her from dropping the package.

"Dame Skyla," She breathed, sometimes she forgot herself and which title to use where, "Ah, no. Actually I'm just making sure everything's safe." She sniffed and placed the package she was holding down on the floor next to the others. "We're afraid someone might try to slip something into the packages or something. Because all are accepted. You doing okay?" The girl gave her a quick look from underneath her blue and silver striped fringe.

The queen smiled and on impulse ruffled the young girl's unruly hair. As the child squeaked and jumped away from her, she laughed and nodded.

"I'm fine. Is there anything lethal in the packages?"

Joanie gave her a nasty look and flattened her hair.

"Not that I've found so far." She said and glanced at the mount. "There's one though," she indicated towards the sky blue package, "that I don't completely trust. It's only addressed to you. There's no nametag on it or anything. I was just considering whether or not I should throw it out."

Queen Skyla frowned as she reached out to pick up the package. Joanie mouthed protest but she waved her away.

"You touched it and nothing happened." She said and weighed it in her hands. "It's rather heavy. I wonder what's in it."

Joanie sniffed and tried to reach for it before Skyla pulled it away.

"Let me open it." The small girl insisted. "Then, if it is something dangerous…" She let the sentence trail off but still held out her hand.

Queen Skyla promptly took it away from her.

"No." She said shortly.

Although she knew that it was the Skydancers' job to face danger on her behalf she couldn't face Joanie getting hurt.

Joanie gave her a long, hard look, sensing the woman's throughts. She was about to comment when they heard two thuds next to them. Slam and Breeze walked over, eyes shining.

"Everything is a-okay." Slam said as he gave Queen Skyla a mock salute. "We found no signs of hurricanes, hot air balloons or stinky, noisy brattish breaths." He was referring to Skyclone and his minions. "The worst thing I saw was a swallow who I suspect got into the punch Camille ordered." He shook his head, allowing the sun to catch his auburn colored hair. "It was a sad sad sight."

Breeze chuckled softly at his friend's remark before he turned to the queen.

"Whirl, Twirl and I have also started to check through all the guests arriving." He said and patted the two dogs by his heels. "There's no unwanted company here."

Queen Skyla nodded her approval.

"That's good you two." She said with a smile and patted Whirl and Twirl before they bounded off to beg some treats from Camille. "Thank you, I think perhaps we will have a good day today."

She glanced at the package.

Breeze was the first to notice it and raised a questioning eyebrow, after he noticed the way both Skyla and Joanie were looking at it.

"What's that?"

Joanie sniffed and shrugged. "Dunno." She said. "I've got a bit of a bad feeling from that one. We've just been checking it out."

Slam whistled. "Whoa." He said and reached out to take it from Queen Skyla's hands. "A package with attitude. Can I open it?" With out waiting for a reply he began to tear off the paper.

Queen Skyla took a step back and folded her arms. "Go right ahead Slam." She said with a touch of sarcasm as she shared a look with Joanie and Breeze. The red headed boy was known for his foolhardy, go-in-and-get-it attitude.

Slam dismissed the comment as he exposed and large clear crystal.

"Nice," he said impressed, "very nice."

Joanie's curiosity got the better of her.

"Let me see." She said and snatched the crystal from his hands. She clicked her tongue as she ran her fingers over the edges. "Smooth…" She commented and weighed it in her arms. "This would make a lovely paper weight."

She grinned at the people around her before she continued her study of the object. She pressed her nose against it so that she could stare through the sides. She frowned slightly as her eyes narrowed intent.

"There's something written on the inside." She said. "I can't make it out."

Queen Skyla raised a curious eyebrow.

"Give it to me." She said and took the crystal from the child's hands. "It reads: 'Anje medo'en yi ryante ne unglo mati.'" A look of fear suddenly entered the Queen's eyes. "Skydancers get…" Her words were cut short as she was engulfed in a brilliant white light. Joanie screamed as Breeze threw her to the ground and covered her. Slam shouted something and jumped into the light. The sound of a thousand winds entered the room as the light exploded in a terrifying show of color…


	2. Confrontations

**Chapter 02: Confrontations**

"Slam! Joanie! Breeze!" Jade's urgent cries were the first thing that was heard after the explosion. "Angelica! Camille, come help here!"

The raven haired girl rushed to the fountain. As far as she could see nothing was damaged, but her three friends were all lying on the floor apparently out cold.

"Come on you guys!" She said as she reached them. "Get up, please!"

She was afraid for the worst.

"Camille! Get Dame Skyla, Camille!"  
Joanie was the first to stir as Jade pulled the unconscious Breeze from her.

The girl blinked and shook her head.

"Jade?" she queried uncertain. "What?" She looked around her, still blinking and touched her head gingerly. Then, suddenly her eyes widened with fear and she jumped up without waiting for assistance from Jade.

"Dame Skyla!" She called. "Queen Skyla!"

She spread her wings and leaped into the air.

"Queen Skyla!" She called again, her voice going up a pitch.

By now the other two Skydancers were by their companions' side and the other people in the hall were standing closer to investigate.

"What happened?" Angelica demanded as she knelt next to Breeze and touched his slack face. "What was that…" She got cut off as Breeze moaned softly and tried to push himself up. Angelica quickly put a restraining hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down, touching his cheek softly as she did. Breeze blinked at her and squeezed his eyes shut.

"What…" He started then grimaced and touched his head. "Oh, man. Headache."

He reopened his eyes and tried to look around him.

"Stay still." Angelica said soothingly. "We don't know. We're trying to find Skyla."

She looked at Jade who was now with Slam.

He was also awake and seemingly in a nasty predicament.

"My eyes!" He complained and rubbed furiously over his face. "My eyes, blast it, I can't see!" None the less he looked around blindly. His eyes were filled with dread. "Yo, Queen Skyla!" He called. "Queen Skyla!"

Jade placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. "We're trying to find her. Just stay still Slam."  
Her friend turned a wild look on his face. "She should be with us Jade!" He snapped. "She was in the light!"

"Oh, no!" Camille breathed, having heard what Slam said. "I'll help them look… Queen Skyla!" She added her shouts to the other two. Jade was looking around panicky. "Slam stay still." She told her friend as she pushed him down so that he could lie down on his back. "We'll get the Tinker to come and look at your eyes in a second. Breeze, can you see?"

The Indian boy nodded and stood up as quickly as his body allowed him. "Isn't Skyla here?" He demanded. "What happened? She should be here, she should be here!"

Angelica shook her head.

"I don't know what happened, Breeze." She said. "But we'll find her!"

She spread her own wings and flew up. Breeze and Camille joined her. Jade stayed with Slam, torn between looking for her Queen and staying with her friend.

Slam lay on the ground, breathing deeply, willing his eyes to start working again.

He tried to shift into a more comfortably position and quite suddenly realised that there was a cause for his discomfort. He touched the hand jade had on his shoulder and motioned to her to help him up.

"There's something digging into my back." He grunted as Jade helped him up. He also realised quite suddenly that he could start seeing shapes.

Jade frowned slightly and looked behind him. Slam jerked at her gasp.

"It's the Skyswirlstone." She breathed. "Oh no Slam… It's the stone…"

Slam went ashen as he pushed himself up against her.

"Call the others back…"

&&&

Joanie was the first one to answer Jade's frantic summons. The petite girl was breathing heavily as she landed, her chest constricted with panic.

"I quickly flew to her office and apartments." She breathed, her dark eyes wild. "She's not there you guys! She couldn't have flown that quickly!" She made as if to fly away again but stopped shocked when she noticed the Skyswirlstone in Jade's hands.

"What are you doing with that?"

Jade took a deep breath to try an explain herself. She hesitated when she saw Angelica and Breeze land and waited for them to join the group.

The hand in which she held the glove shook with fear.

"I found this." She said. "On the floor. Under Slam." She turned to the two who had joined them.

"What happened you guys? What was that flash we saw?"

Joanie stared at the glove, unable to answer her.

Slam blinked and rubbed his eyes.

"Blurry's the word." He said softly. "Just before she disappeared, Skyla was reading something from that strange crystal Joanie had given her. Then…" He frowned. "She tried to tell us to move away just before the crystal exploded."

Angelica looked around them.

"It couldn't have like, exploded." She drawled. "There's like, no glass around – or, shards or even b…" She hesitated but the word came to them all like a physical shock.  
Blood.

Unconsciously all looked around them uneasily.

Joanie sniffed and having recovered her breath jumped into the air again.

"I'll start looking again. She's here somewhere!"

Before she could fly away Breeze quickly grabbed her by the foot, his eyes darkened by the thoughts they entertained.

"Rather get the Tinker Joanie." He said. "I think it was magic. Where's Camille? She should be…"

People started screaming.

Camille appeared above them, flying as fast as she could.

"Skyclone's coming!" She shouted down at them. "He's got four Hurricanes!"   
Breeze cursed softly and looked around them, at all the guests and palace staff.

"We have to get these people out of here!" He commanded his friends. "Come on! Joanie, stay with Slam, he can't fly the way he is."

He tried to pull her out of the air.

Joanie's mouth opened with protest.

"I will not!" She snapped. "We have to find…"

The light around them faded as three large creatures flew into the hall. As one, they lined up – took deep breaths and blew over the gathered crowd and panicked guests.

People screamed in panic as they were blown into tables and chairs, glass shattered as the food tables were thrown over and Camille yelled as she was thrown back.

Breeze held onto Joanie's foot and braced himself along with his other friends against the strong force, Slam found his arms and helped him pull the youngest of their group into their huddle.

When the wind stopped, everybody was bewildered.

The five Skydancers carefully stepped away from each other and looked around bewildered.  
Three of the Hurricanes circled the great circular hall, preventing all those who were left to leave the room, while the other over shadowed the large shape that entered the room from the one balcony.

As always, Skyclone walked as if he owned the place, his cockiness vibrating from him like a bad odour.

Neither of his imps was with him.

"My my my." He purred as he walked towards them. "Look what we have here." He sneered. "A flock without a shepherd. How sad."

His gaze moved from the one Skydancer to the other. When he found that one was short he looked around the room sharply, until he found Camille. She was slumped against the wall against which the wind had thrown her. She appeared to be unhurt, but terribly disorientated. He chuckled softly and without looking in their direction held up a halting hand in the direction of the other Skydancers.

"I would suggest dropping that formation." He said as he slowly turned his attention back to them – seeing for the first time that they had already flown up into the air and appeared ready to attack him. "You would absolutely hate yourself if you harmed the only person who knows what has happened to the precious ex-Queen of this lovely kingdom."

Breeze flew forward sharply.

"What did you do to Skyla?!" He demanded.  
The fat man stopped below them and laughed.

"That is no way to speak to your future king by boy." He sneered. "I suggest you take it back."  
Joanie balled her fists at him.

"I suggest you speak while you can still move your jaw!" She shouted down at him.

Skyclone's dark gaze rested on her, his smile twisting with distaste.

"Ah." He murmured, loud enough for all to hear. "Skyla's bastard lapdog. I am going to have to do something about your manners when I am king."

It took both Breeze and Slam to keep Joanie from going at the man fist and foot. Before she could settle down another person joined their midst along with Camille.  
Councilwoman Faolin rested a gentle hand on the kicking teenager and softly told Joanie to settle down before she looked at Skyclone.

Her grey hair was in disarray and she had what appeared to be a cream tart smeared all over her fine dress but her authority challenged the man.

"You will never be king Skyclone." She said coldly. "Where is our Queen? What have you done to her?"

The look Skyclone gave her wasn't any better than the one he had given Joanie.

"Another lapdog." He murmured. "Though, one I might have a use for." His tone softened and became almost syrupy.

"What makes you think I did something to our wonderful Queen, Faolin?" He queried. "She is family, after all and, like you – I am but a humble servant to the throne. Even if, until now, it has been a usurper's rule."

The group was pale with rage.

"Where is Dame Skyla?!" Joanie snapped and once again tried to get at him but this time Faolin grabbed her arm.  
Breeze shared a grateful look with the Head Councilwoman.

"Patience Joanie." He whispered then turned to Skyclone. His mouth thinned as he tried to formulate his sentence.

"Please Skyclone." His voice was tight. "Could you tell us what has happened to Skyla? We would _really_ appreciate the information."

The fat man chuckled cruelly.

"That's better dear boy." He said then turned to all who had gathered there. "Your Queen, my dear people, is gone. She is dead."

Cries of disbelief filled the room. Councilwoman Faolin clutched her chest when she heard Skyclone's words – her face pale.

"You lie." She breathed at the same time Joanie shouted it and continued. "What have you done with her you bastard?"

Skyclone gave her an irritating amused look.

"As I have told you before little worm, I have not done anything to her. She is gone and, as I am the true heir of this realm, I have come to take her place. I am the only royalty this place has left."

He pointed at Jade.

"The Skyswirlstone please."

The dark haired young woman clutched the stone to her chest and shook her head.  
"You haven't answered our question yet Skyclone." She snapped. "Where is Skyla? Where is she?"

The large man sighed as if he was amused by the antics of little children.  
"Oh all right." He intoned in a bored voice. "If you must know – she is in the Crystal Mountains. Due to a little gift someone had send her – not me I can assure you, I would never wish such a fate on a family member – she has been send there to spend an eternity trapped in stone. A curse, sadly. Boo, hoo hoo."   
Sarcasm dripped from the last words, sending a rile of fury through the Skydancers.

Angelica leaned closer to Breeze. "I don't know what bull he's talking." She whispered. "But I suggest we get this bag of air out of here. We can figure out where Skyla is ourselves with the Tinker's help. He's not going to help."

The group did not nod their agreement, but all could sense the other's anticipation and started to ready themselves for a fight.

Skyclone saw this though and, having anticipated their actions smiled slightly.  
"Hurricanes!" He called out without warning. "Destroy the Skydancers and bring me the stone!"

All four the creatures attacked as the Skydancers scattered.

Slam knew that with his currently limited sight he would only be a liability and rather helped the Councilwoman get to safety.

When she was out of the danger zone she took Slam's arm and motioned to the one window.  
"I'm going to find the Tinker and more guards! You need back up."

Before her words were even cold they heard a surprised yell from Jade. It had not gone well for Slam's fellow Skydancers in the fight.

With four hurricanes and one of their numbers incapacitated the remaining five Skydancers had struggled to subdue the monsters.

Joanie flew around furiously, silver trails streaming from her wings as she tried to entrap the monster in a static cage while Jade tried to hold it in one place.

Angelica desperately tried to freeze the monster she was busy with but the Hurricane that Camille had tried to disorientate in a fog managed to knock the blond girl out of the air. Breeze, who had tried to deal with the remaining Hurricane, saw this and managed to catch Angelica before she plummeted down the Hall but not without having to sacrifice his own attempt at stopping the other monster with a well aimed lightning bolt. Together he and Angelica immediately set off to tackle his monster together – but, it left the Hurricane Angelica was covering free.  
It flew towards where Joanie and Jade had managed to almost subdue their and acted so quickly that neither of the girls had any warning.  
It knocked Jade out of the air with a strong gust of wind and another caught her in his hand and threw her to the ground.

The young woman let out a yell of surprise and spread her wings to try and break her fall but the impact with the ground still knocked the wind out of her.  
Gasping she realised that the stone had dropped from her pocket and wheezing, she tried to grab it.

A large foot came down on her wrist, causing her to cry out in pain.  
"Not so fast." Skyclone sneered as he picked up his sister in law's glove.

Jade cringed in pain as he shifted his weight. Without looking at the glove Skyclone slipped it onto his hand and pointed it at Jade's head.

"Skydancers stop!" He shouted up to the ceiling. "Stop or I will make you regret your actions."

The Skyswirlstone started blazing with a dangerous light.

Jade's mind shouted at her to tell her friends to carry on, but she couldn't make a sound, the threat before her taking all the will from her.

It took a moment or two for the other Skydancers to realize their friend's predicament.

When they did though they stopped abruptly and allowed the Hurricanes to herd them back to Skyclone.  
The man smiled as he watched them from the ground, pressed in a tight bundle. Jade shifted underneath him but he did not let her up.

"That's better." He murmured as he stroked his other hand over the glove. "Now get down here like the good insects you are."  
Looks were passed around in defiance but the five knew that they could not risk Jade's life. Defeated they flew to the ground and touched down.

"Good." He said then turned to the stricken crowd cowering in the corners of the room.  
"My good people please calm down!" His smooth tone carried comfortably across the hall as he finally took his foot from Jade's arm. "Do not be alarmed by my actions, I merely had to act to defend myself against Skyla's Skydancers. As, you must note, I always have. Behold, good people, your new king!" He raised his hands slightly and turned in a circle. When nobody said anything he snorted and shook his head.  
"Whether or not you are impressed with what you see…" He began coldly. "I am your new king. For better or worse, I am the heir, the true heir of the stone. There has never been another. By my linage, I was the first born to King Skyhawk and Skyla has no children. I am your new king, and you will obey me."  
The guards shifted uncomfortably as Skyclone looked at them. They had arrived too late to help the Skydancers in their plight.

"If you do not." Skyclone continued. "These six pleasant young people will meet a horrible fate. I would hate for my reign to start this way though, so please do not force my hand."

Two more people joined the hall.

"Guards! Stand your ground!"

Councilwoman Faolin looked sick when she saw the Skyswirlstone on Skyclone's hand but then the Tinker who she had brought with her touched her hand slightly and whispered something in her ear.  
She frowned then looked at Skyclone for a second time.  
Her eyes widened slightly before her expression changed.

They couldn't tell whether it was bewilderment or relief that shone behind her eyes.

"We will not risk their lives Skyclone." She said calmly. "But, I feel that it is my duty to inform you that you seemed to have miscalculated."

Skyclone's eyes briefly travelled to her but he clenched his fist with the glove.

The Skydancers tensed, but – when he looked away from them Slam and Breeze shared a look and each put a hand on Joanie's shoulder.

They had positioned the youngest between them – to try and keep her from randomly attacking Skyclone and getting hurt. They gave her a meaningful look when she looked up at them – puzzled.

"How is that?" Skyclone, unaware of the Skydancers for the moment didn't notice Slam and Breeze's expression.  
Faolin smiled smugly.

"You are not the heir. The stone, Skyclone, is red."

The big man laughed.

"Nonsense woman." He sneered. "There is no one else. Look for yourself…"

As he lifted his hand slightly to show her the stone, a glint of it caught his eye.

Skyclone blinked, visibly startled and stared at it.  
The stone had an angry red glow.

His attention left the Skydancers.

"This can't be!" He managed. "I am the only one…"

He never got to finish his sentence.

As one Slam and Breeze caught Joanie underneath the shoulders and propelled her forward, lifting her from the ground as they did.  
The girl pulled her legs up and coiled her tiny body like a spring.

When they were close enough, the boys lifted her up to face height and, before Skyclone fully comprehended what was going on, Joanie kicked him in the face.

The large man grunted and took a step back as Slam and Breeze let go of Joanie. The girl spread her wings and turned in the air and, as the two boys tackled Skyclone like two rugby players asking for a yellow card, grabbed his arm and tried to pull the glove from his hand.

The Hurricanes rumbled as their master was borne to the ground and the four people started struggling.

The girls wasted no time and flew up – commanding the guards to help them. They didn't attack the Hurricanes, knowing that they couldn't take all four on by themselves but they made sure that the beasts could not get close to the skirmish on the floor and help their master.

As the boys managed to pin Skyclone to the ground Joanie struggled to get the glove off his hand. She had managed to peel back most of it but was struggling too get the glove off his clenched fist. It was like trying to take a loaded gun away from a madman. Her biggest fear was that he would recover himself and randomly blast them with the Skyswirlstone's power. In one panicked moment, when she noticed the glove starting to glow brighter and the boys started grunting with effort to keep the struggling man down she grabbed his arm with her one hand, held onto the glove with the other and bit him on the inside of his wrist.  
Hard.

The man howled and shook his arm like one would shake off a dog.

His fingers spread in pain and in that one moment Joanie took her chance, slipped off the glove and jumped away from him. She clutched it to her chest and ran.

Skyclone bellowed in rage and with a mighty heave grabbed Slam and Breeze by the heads and slammed them into each other. When they collapsed on top of him he flung them aside and furiously searched for Joanie.

She was hovering some distance from them – temporarily out of the way of the Hurricanes. Her face was pale and she as breathing heavily as she looked at the glove in her hands. The glove had been turned inside out, so that she was unable to see the stone. She held onto it so tightly, her knuckles were stark white.

"Get the stone!" Skyclone yelled above the clamour of fighting in the hall. "Hurricanes, get the stone!"

One of the hurricanes had already been destroyed by the guards and girls but the remaining three all went for Joanie at once.  
She froze for a split second.  
She didn't blink, didn't breath – didn't even seem to make an effort to stay in the air.

Then, her being seemed to come into focus and with a fierce light in her eye she started forming delicate movements with her arms. Just as the one hurricane was upon her she closed her eyes and spread both her arms.  
The first lightening bolt was a full hit.

A loud explosion filled the room as the blinding bolt travelled through the closest hurricane.

For a moment, everything around him was white then – nothing.  
The hurricane disappeared.

The air itched with static as another bolt formed.

The remaining Hurricanes seemed to whimper and scattered.

Below them Skyclone cursed and whistled, realizing that suddenly the odds were against him.

One of the Hurricanes turned towards him while the other dodged another searing blot. This one missed and hit a table below.

It cracked and started burning.

The air itched again as Joanie opened her strangely calm eyes to search for the other Hurricanes.

There were none left to fight though.

Her five friends had managed to destroy the one that had dodged her lightening bolt and, in the time that they had struggled with it, Skyclone had managed to get away with the help of the other.

The static continued to build up around them though until someone lay a gentle hand on Joanie's shoulder.

"Let it go child." The Tinker whispered as he tried to push Joanie's stiff arms back down to her side. "Let it go."

She shivered suddenly and gasped, letting the glove drop to the floor.

The static in the air disappeared.

Joanie turned to him, her eyes desperate.

"Is it true?" She demanded. "Is it true what he said? Is Skyla dead? Is she dead?"  
There were tears in the Tinker's calm eyes as he held out his arms to comfort her.

"Our Queen is beyond our reach." He said softly. "I'm sorry Joanie, she's gone…"

&&&

_AN: Okay, I believe this is my second? Second post of the year I think.  Hello everybody, I hope that this finds you well. I have precious little to say for once in my life (call the fire brigade, the red head has nothing to say) only that reviews are appreciated, comments are filed and noted and sacrificial victims are inspected. :P _

_Oh, in case you didn't notice I've changed Chapter 1 too. _

_  
Alyss _

_-;-- _


	3. The Colour of Stone

**Chapter 03: The Colour of Stone. **

Nobody knew what to say.

Nobody ever did when somebody died or left.  
And, it was perhaps in that silence, that lonely silence in the face of friends – where the greatest pain nestled.

By nightfall the message had spread throughout the wingdom.

In the fading light of sunset Slam, from his vantage point at the window, could see the various white flags and sheets the Wing Folk were hanging from their windows.  
Slam closed his eyes as he felt his chest tighten with unshed tears.

He would not cry in front of everybody!

Swallowing tightly he opened his eyes and glanced around the private dining room.

Angelica and Breeze were on a settee in the corner, Angelica practically buried in Breeze.

Slam envied them.

Despite the obvious chemistry between him and Jade, things never seemed to flow the way it did with the other couple.

Jade was reserved, he was awkward with emotions, Jade was smart, he was a joker.

Jade was soft and kind and responsible. He was reckless, a hard ass and had a terrible temper.

Somehow, in that strange mixture that made up them, they could not express what they felt for each other as they would've wanted.

He closed his eyes again, unable to look at the couple on the settee and rather turned to focus on Camille.

She was sitting at the table, alone, playing with the salt and peppershaker. Her eyes didn't see them though as she arranged them in invisible patterns and tears still flowed unhindered down her cheeks.  
Slam wondered suddenly how many of his friends had ever lost someone. They knew a lot about each other, but in a sense they also knew nothing.

He had lost a friend to gang fighting when he was in high school.

It had shaken his world and had most probably been the reason why he had thrown himself into his dancing.

With a touch of irony he realised that, if his friend had never died, he would never have been here.

And he would never have had to face the bleak future that now lay before him.  
He closed his eyes, struggling with his emotions.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder and pressed something warm into his hands.

He opened his eyes and for a moment thought that it was Dame Skyla but, when he blinked through the tears he realised that it was Councilwoman Faolin, her normally green eyes almost grey with grief. She touched his cheek and moved to give a cup to Camille. It took her several moments to rouse the olive skinned young woman.

"Chai tea." The councilwoman said with a bitterly painful smile. "Queen Skyla brought it to me from your world. It helps."

Camille swallowed and rubbed at her face.

"Thank you." She said softly and took the cup. She turned her attention back to the salt and peppershakers.  
Slam watched the councilwoman as she moved to the head of the table and sat down slowly. He moved closer to her and leaned against the wall.

"Councilwoman?" He queried and again saw her pain in the small smile she gave him.

"What can I do for you Slam?" She queried.  
Slam struggled with his question for a moment, wondering whether or not it was appropriate.

"How… How long have you known Dame Skyla?"  
The councilwoman raised an eyebrow as her gaze became unfocused.

"I…" She paused and closed her eyes, lost in memory. "Almost twenty years." She said finally. "I was first her Lady-in-waiting, just after she and Skyler got engaged and then, when the opportunity presented itself Skyla released me from her service and I joined the council."

Breeze shifted on the chair and ran a gentle hand through Angelica's hair.

"Where you her first lady-in-waiting?" He queried.

Faolin took a sip from her own cup and shook her head.

"There was a young girl before me." She said. "But, she only lasted a week. I can't even remember her name."  
The Skydancers looked at each other but didn't say anything.

The heavy silence filtered back into the room until the door opened, admitting Jade.

Camille looked up from her arrangement on the table and glanced at Jade, taking in her friend's tight, pale face. Her haunted eyes spoke volumes.  
The very sun had been taken from Jade's life.

"How's Joanie?" Camille asked, feeling the need to fill the silence in the room.  
Jade shook her head and sighed.

"She's asleep." She said. "The Tinker gave her something to calm her down." Her eyes tightened as she tried to fight tears. "She's absolutely devastated."

Angelica looked up from her place in Breeze's arms.

"We all are." She said.

Jade nodded and wiped away the tears she could not control.

"Yeah." She said softly. "We are."

There was nothing they could say and like a wave their loss flowed into the room.

Slam shivered and in a sudden show of temper slammed his fist against the wall.

"This is insane!" He snapped. "Skyla could still be out there! We have to do something!"

The door opened again.

"There's nothing you can do Slam." The Tinker said as he stepped into the room, leaning heavily on a cane he sometimes walked with. The sight of it disturbed the Skydancers deeply. "Skyla is beyond our reach."

Councilwoman Faolin looked up and gave the old man a levelled look.

"You are very careful with your words Master Tinkers." She said. "You've never said she's dead."

The Tinker shot her a tired look and slowly walked to the table.

"She's as good as Faolin." He said - his voice tight.

The woman seemed to want to argue but Breeze stood up and diplomatically sat down between them.

"Could you explain to us again, Master Tinker…?" He said carefully. "What happened today? Please. We all need to understand."

The Tinker sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took off his glasses and cleaned them before he started speaking.

"The stone that Skyclone send here." He began. "Is called the Heart of the Mountain. It comes from the Flightless Realm. Its magic is beyond this realm's understanding. We can not go there."

"Can't we even try?" Slam demanded.  
The Tinker shook his head and glanced at Councilwoman Faolin who had gone very pale at the mention of the Flightless Realm.

"We…" She hesitated and collected herself. "We first have to concern ourselves with other things." She said. "You can't just leave the wingdom now. Without Skyla is it without protection. Skyclone can return at any moment and…" She hesitated, and dropped her head ashamed. "There's a question of finding the heir."

The Tinker shook his head miserably, causing Faolin to glare at him.

"We have to think of it." She snapped. "Making sure this kingdom has a ruler is our duty. We have to think of the heir because Skyclone was obviously not it. Then, there must be someone else out there or Skyla is still alive!"  
The Tinker held up his hands in defence.

"I didn't say anything Faolin." He said gently, his voice thick with grief.

The woman settled back and rubbed her eyes.

"You were thinking it." She muttered. "Out with the old King, in with the new King. There goes the council again; forcing a broken woman to take a duty she doesn't want."

The Tinker's expression softened and motioned to the young people with them who were very awkward at the display of emotions.

"Nobody ever said that." He said. "And I was just a much a part of forcing Skyla to become Queen than the council was. Please Faolin, we all hurt. Please."

The woman settled down, but squeezed her hands over her eyes. She didn't look up.  
Jade who had unconsciously moved over to slam and pressed herself against him, stepped aside and joined Breeze and Camille at the table.

"Master Tinker." She said carefully. "Please, could you explain something to us?"  
The old man glanced at her and nodded his consent.

Jade took a careful breath and glanced at her friends.

"How does the wingdom choose a heir?" She queried. "It's obviously not the conventional way it worked in our world, where the crown is passed down from father to oldest child."

The Tinker nodded and glanced at Faolin to see if she wanted to explain. When she didn't move he sighed and sat forward, motioning to Slam and Angelica to join them at the table.

"The Skyswirlstone." He said. "Is the centre of a lot of debate. It is always in touch with the wingdom. And, quite obviously – it's magic. Something that is not very common in the realm of flight."   
Camille frowned.

"Why?"   
The Tinker glanced at her.

"I will explain that at a later stage." He said. "Now, as you know – the Skyswirlstone can technically be used by anybody and is mostly used to transport people like you from one world to the other and then of course in the defence of the wingdom."

He waited for them to nod before he continued.

"Now it also shows who the true heir of the thrown is. When the current ruler and his or her heirs touch it, it turns blue. When somebody else does, it turns red."  
Angelica shifted uncomfortably. Of the Skydancers, she had been the only one to actually wear the glove ones.

"Like it did with Skyclone?" She queried to hide her unease.

"Yes." The Tinker replied. "As it did with Skyclone."

Camille was having trouble following.

"But Skyclone was king Skyler's brother." She said. "Surely he has right to the throne."

The Tinker shook his head.

"He doesn't." He said. "When Skyclone and Skyler were young, they were both made to wear the glove to see who would be the heir. To everyone's surprise, it had been Skyler, not his older brother. Now needless to say, Skyclone was furious as a young boy and carried that anger with him right through till the time that Skyler and Skyla got engaged. I don't know if Skyla ever told you, but during that time he had orchestrated her kidnapping in an attempt to get at the stone. Or kill his brother; we never knew what his motive was."  
The Skydancers shifted uneasily.

"We've heard of it Master Tinker." Breeze said vaguely. "We still don't understand this though, Skyla became Queen because she was Skyler's wife right?"  
The Tinker shook his head.

"Yes and no." He said. "Yes, she automatically became queen when they got married yes. But, she became ruling queen because she was next in line. As I told you, we're not entirely sure how it works but, when Skyler got coroneted he demanded that they test for another heir before he and Skyla had children. Some said that he had had a premonition of what would happen in the future."

It probably stemmed from their own guilt but for a split second the Skydancers thought he had given them all a very pointed look.

"When they performed the test." He continued. "Skyclone obviously showed up. Skyler let him partake in the test but he was again excluded and rather, when Skyla put on the glove, it glowed blue. Skyclone left the wingdome after that and only returned the time he started to wage war on it. Skyla mean while, started to be tutored by Skyler how to use the stone. You know how she came by it."

They did.  
Breeze sighed.

"Did Skyla ever… test some one else?"

The Tinker shook his head sadly.

"She was devastated after her husband's death. And, in some way kept hope and still… Had still kept hope that he would come back, that she was still in a sense the "back up" heir. Time passed. Five years aren't a lot and it's been a very busy five year for her. Had been. Also, generally, despite the odd jump, the stone normally takes someone linked to the ruling family. Like it did Skyla."  
His face contorted in pain.

Jade frowned at him.

"You're very certain that she is gone." She said.  
The Tinker gave her a sad expression.

"Because I know more of this than you do." He said. "Trust me when I saw, of the people here in this room, none of us can reach her. And even if we could, we might not be able to save her."

Breeze sighed heavily.

"I believe you." He said finally. "Master Tinker, you are… Skyla is like a daughter to you. Was. If you have no hope then…"

He shook his head and took Angelica's hand as she started crying again.

Slam jumped up.

"I don't believe this mumbo jumbo!" He said. "You guys, Skyla does not have children! That means the heir is still out there somewhere and that heir must be her! How can you just leave it?!"

Jade frowned and sat forward.

"The Tinker won't lie, Slam." She said. "I hate it as much as you do Slam but maybe we should just let this go. Let us grieve damn it instead of asking of us to hold false hope. False hope kills. Just let us grieve Slam."

Slam glared at her.

"Skyla is still out there!" He demanded. "She is, she must be. She has no family, no link. No children…"

He stopped.

All of them sat back shocked.

"You don't think…" Jade started uncertain and took out the Skyswirlstone from her pocket. By some mutual unspoken consent they had all agreed that she should be the one to carry it. "I mean… They're not related."

She glanced at the Tinker who just looked at her, without speaking.   
Councilwoman Faolin looked quite lost.

"Who do you mean?" She queried.

Camille glanced at the Skyswirlstone; its colour was still red.

"Joanie." She voiced the name they all were considering.

"Joanie is Skyla's daughter. Sort of."

Slam sat down, pale.

"She's not going to like it." He said breathlessly.  
Angelica was frowning.

"I don't know you guys." She said and carefully pulled the glove closer. "I mean Skyla hadn't even made it known in this world that Joanie's her daughter. Here she's just a Skydancer and, Skyla would've told us if she was the heir. She'll be a lot more valuable then." She pushed the stone back to the middle of the table.

Camille frowned at it. "Maybe she didn't know it herself." She said. "But this is something to look into. If Joanie is the heir, then it means that Skyla is truly dead or gone or what ever and then we've got to look after her. But, if she isn't then it means that Skyla is still alive because there is nobody else who could be next in line. Or, nobody that we know of."

She glanced at the Tinker who didn't say anything.

Councilwoman Faolin was frowning.

"It would be unprecedented." She said. "Joanie comes from your world. I doubt whether or not she would be the heir."

Breeze politely ignored her.

"I think." He said softly. "That first thing tomorrow morning we get Joanie to try on the glove. Then we can see whether or not we can sort out this whole mess."


	4. The Colour of Duty

**Chapter 04: The Colour of Duty. **

"No way."

Joanie-Ellen's face was pale but in a sharp contrast her dark eyes blazed furiously.

"No bloody way, I'm not putting on that glove!"

It was morning and all Skydancers were in the sleeping chamber's corridor. All looked tired and none of them, even Joanie, looked as if they had slept.

There were very few people hanging around and those who were had their heads bowed, a white sash tied to their upper arms. The news of Skyla's strange disappearance lay over the castle like a pall. Many believed that she was dead and precious few believed that there was still a chance for her to come back. No one had the strength yet to think of what was going to happen next.

No one, except five very determined Skydancers.

Joanie tried to pull herself up to her full height, stopping just short of standing on her toes in order to gain the upper hand on her friends who all looked down on her.

"How can you ask that of me?!" She demanded. "How dare you?"

Her fists were balled as if she was quite willing to take on all of them in a fight.  
Jade sighed and stepped closer.

"Listen Joanie." She said gently. "We know how you feel, believe me – we wouldn't put you through this unless we had a very good reason."

Joanie sniffed and shifted her weight uncomfortably as she looked from one person to the other.

"What's this reason?" She asked suspiciously.  
It was the troupe's turn to shift uncomfortably.

"We think that there's a reasonable chance that you might be the next heir to the throne." Camille said carefully. "Because you are Skyla's daughter."

Joanie flinched at the name and closed her eyes. For a moment or two she breathed deeply, struggling to get her emotions under control.

When she opened her eyes again, they were as cold as ice.

"I'm not her real daughter." She reminded them coldly. "I'm adopted. Now, if you'll excuse me – I have some things I have to go and do."  
She tried to push past Slam who was next to Jade.

Slam grabbed her arm but let it go immediately when Joanie turned to give him a withering look.

"Don't touch me." The young Skydancer hissed in an echo of her former self.

Breeze stepped closer to her and went down on his knees so that he could be at eye level with her.

"Please Joanie." He begged. "Just try it on. If you are not the heir then there is a larger chance that Skyla is still alive out there. Then, if that is so, then we can try and rescue her. Please, just try it on."

An internal battle played itself across the youth's face until she looked away from them and sniffed.

Without meeting anybody's eyes she looked up to the ceiling.

"You are doing this to determine whether or not Skyla is still alive?" She queried, her voice tight with tears.

The Skydancers nodded, waiting.

Joanie sighed and shook her head defeated.

"Okay." She said softly. "Give it here. The sooner I try it on the quicker we can get going." She took the glove Jade held out for her in shaky hands. For a moment she paused as she rubbed the soft material through her fingers.  
Joanie bit her bottom lip as started to quiver and slipped on the glove.

Her hands were shaking terribly.

The colours inside the stone started to swirl.

A dropped needle could've been heard as the group watched the colours settle.  
Slowly but surely the stone turned blue.  
Nobody spoke for a great length of time. Slam was the first to stir as he let out a long breath.

"Whoa." He muttered. "Would you look at that?"

He didn't know whether he should be happy or sad. They had found the next heir, but – there was no chance that Skyla was still with them.

Joanie stared at her hand as if it was a poisonous snake. Her wild eyes danced from the stone to her friends.

"I…" Her mouth opened and closed in a wordless plea. "This is wrong. This… I am not the Queen! I can't be. It's not right!"

She motioned to the glove wildly, looking at her friends.

"I am not the queen. I am not the heir."

Shaking she pulled the glove from her hand and held it out to Jade who had gone even paler than se had been. When she didn't take the glove, Joanie shook it.

"Here." She said, holding it out to Jade with an insistent shake. "Take it, I don't want it."

Jade gave her a sympathetic look but made no motion to take the glove from her friend. Her eyes were lined with tears.

"No Joanie." She said with a sad shake of her head. "You keep it. I guess it's yours now." She glanced at her friends. "We better in form Lady Faolin."

Breeze nodded wordlessly and started to walk away. Angelica, crying again, followed him.

Joanie watched them leave with horror in her eyes.

"No you guys!" She called after them. "Don't! This is a mistake!" She stared at the stone in her hand then at her best friend.

"Jade, please take it." She begged. "Please, I'm not the Queen. You can't make me do it."

Tears were now freely streaming down her cheeks.

Jade whipped away some of her own and stepped closer to the youngest Skydancer to give her a hug.

"We'll help you." She said in a soft, choked voice. "Don't worry- we'll also get the Tinker. He knows everything there is to know about ruling this kingdom."

Joanie pulled out of her grip.

"Then make him king!" She shouted and threw down the glove. "I'm not going to be!"  
Before her friends could stop her she turned around and ran for the window. Without hesitating she jumped out and flew away as fast as she could.

Camille sighed softly and went to pick up the discarded glove.

"We didn't think it would be easy for her." She said as she handed it to Jade. "If it had been her of course. Which it is."

Jade closed her eyes and took a steadying breath.

"Yeah." She said miserably. "We anticipated it but…" She closed her eyes then looked at Slam. "I just wish there was a way to make all of this easier. For her and all of us."

&&&

Later than morning, when she figured that Joanie had had enough time to cool off Jade went looking for her small friend. She didn't have to search for long as she found the girl on the tallest tower close to the place. The wind was blowing quite strongly, also as if it too mourned the loss of the sky queen, but the petite girl never moved as she sat with her arms around her leg.

Her chin was buried in her knees and Jade could see that she had been crying.  
Jade took a steadying breath and sank down next to her friend without asking for permission.  
For a moment she looked around her, taking in the splendid view.

"I think it's been 15 or so odd years since the last time we sat here." She said in a light conversational tone. "Do you remember?"  
Joanie didn't look at her and didn't say anything. Her eyes remained fixed on a distant point on the horizon.

Jade sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Listen Joanie we…" She hesitated. "WE didn't mean for it to turn out this way. It was just a thought, just an idea we thought we'd pursue. We didn't really think that it would work."

Joanie sniffed and after some thought turned to look Jade directly in the eye.

"Why did you try it then?" She asked coldly.  
Jade grimanced and took the glove from her pocket.

"We had to know." She said and held it out to Joanie. "You can't blame us for trying. That's our job, you know that. We have to take care of the Wingdom."  
Joanie blinked and glared at her knees.

"It's my job too." She muttered softly. "That and to protect the Queen." She sniffed suddenly and scrubbed at her face. "Didn't do a very good job did I?"

She hit a sore point.  
All the Skydancers had to face their failure.

Jade bit her lip and clenched the glove.

"None of us did." She said softly and looked towards the horizon. "We won't force this on you Joanie." She continued. "If you really don't want to, I'm sure we can come up with something and an agreement with the council. They can carry on ruling untill they have found someone who is suitable for the job. Don't worry, you don't have to take over."

She stopped short when Joanie started laughing bitterly.

"You have no idea what it feels like do you?" She asked bitterly. "Jade, the moment that glove turned blue I could feel it weigh down on my shoulders. Responsibility. It was like that first time Dame Skyla used me to save you guys from Skyclone. When she had looked at me I had just known that I was probably the only one who could do it. I didn't want to. But I had to. Because she chose me. Just as the glove chose me. I didn't choose this but something obviously chose me. How can I refuse?"

She bit her lip as she looked at the glove in her friend's hands.

"I have to take it." She said softly. "I have no choice. There was never any choice." She gently took the glove from Jade and stared down at it. Taking a deep breath, as if to reassure herself that it had really happened she slipped her hand back into the glove. Sure enough, it turned blue again.  
She blinked tears and gave Jade a desperate look.

"It doesn't even fit me."

Jade smiled at her friend, feeling prouder of the little girl than she had ever felt. "It will." She said as she placed an arm around her. "One day."

Joanie stiffened and didn't say anything.

"I'll leave you alone to think." Jade said softly. "Come down for lunch okay?"

When Joanie didn't answer her she sighed and placed a light kiss on the younger girl's forehead.

"You'll be okay kiddo." She said softly. "I'll see you later."  
She stood up and flew away.  
Joanie watched her go then turned her attention back to the horizon.  
Her hand slowly but surely balled into a fist.


	5. In Silence and Moarning

**Chapter 05: In Silence and Mourning. **

By nightfall everything had been organised.  
The council, under the guidance of Lady Faolin, was surprisingly accepting towards Joanie once they saw her change the stone. In the five years since King Skyler had died they had seen a lot of change and this was by far not the worst.

The wingdom survived.  
It carried on.  
It moved on.

As sad as it was - all the members of the council was well aware that in the end, this will be but a mark in history.  
No more.  
And, they also knew that placing someone else on the throne, someone who was not the rightful heir, could lead to a civil war.  
Something the wingdom didn't need again.  
So, arrangements were being made.   
Custom spoke that the sun should not set three times without a ruler in the wingdom so they planned the ceremony for two days later, a day shorter than it had taken them to crown Skyla Queen.  
It was only after that that arrangements could be made for Skyla's memorial service.  
The thought lay heavy on the hearts of the Skydancers as they sat around their private dinner table that night.   
No one was very hungry.  
Breeze watched Joanie over the rim of his glass as she poked at her food. She hadn't said anything since her talk with Jade.

Although understandable, it was troubling. The next few days were going to be hard and they didn't want her to retreat into herself.

Breeze glanced around the table at his friends. They too looked tired and drained, everyone slowly turning around in their own private silent hell. No one had had the chance to grieve yet, and also to start worrying about their own future.  
Breeze feared what it might hold.

He sighed and picked at his own food before he looked back towards Joanie. Something was troubling him.  
The youth sat very still, her face fixed on the open window.  
Her food, like most of the other's, was still untouched in her plate. There was a disturbingly cold light in her eyes as she sighed and stood up.

Everybody turned to look at her.

Joanie looked at them and took a deep breath but couldn't say anything. Instead, she let it go and looked at her feet. The Skyswirlstone was nowhere in sight.

Jade shifted and pushed her own plate away.

"Can I get you anything Joanie?" She queried gently.   
The youth shook her head, still looking at her feet.

"I ah…" She hesitated. "I think I'm going to bed."

She headed for the door without looking up.

"Joanie wait!" Jade called quickly and got up. "Should I come with you?"   
The girl turned to look at her. After some consideration she shook her head and continued to the door. Whirl and Twirl stood up and followed her. They had been roaming the corridors of the palace all day, probably in search of their mistress. They had finally given up and soughed out Joanie and haven't left her side since.  
The young Skydancer paused at the door and looked at the dogs, clearly debating whether or not she should take them with her.

Finally she breathed a suffered sigh and patted the twin dogs before she glanced back into the room.

For a moment Joanie seemed to take all of them in with one look. Her dark eyes touched everyone in the room as she took a deep breath.  
The others unconsciously held their own, waiting for the girl to speak but it never happened.  
Dropping her shoulders Joanie breathed out and looked back at the floor.

She left the room without saying good night.

A painful silence followed.

Jade rubbed her at her face and sank down again without touching her food.

Breeze on the other hand stood up, troubled. There was something in the way Joanie had looked at them. Something… At Edge.

Joanie didn't lie anymore or rather, she tried very hard not to but he got the distinct impression that Joanie had just lied to them.  
Breeze kicked Slam underneath the table.  
The red head sat up startled and glared at him but before he could say anything Breeze motioned to the door.

"Let's follow her." He said softly. "I want to see if she's really going to bed."

Slam frowned but stood up immediately. The girls looked at them but didn't follow as they excused themselves from the room.

"Dude, what's this about?" Slam asked as Breeze pulled the door closed behind them. Joanie was already on the far end of the corridor – she didn't seem to notice them.  
Breeze pulled Slam towards the window and looked out.

"I don't really know." He admitted. "I just have a feeling that Joanie's up to something."

He jumped out of the window.  
Slam ran his hand through his hair before he jumped out too and followed his friend.

"She's on edge." He admitted. "But, where can she go Bro?"  
Breeze flew quickly around the building until he could watch the girl through the windows.

"I don't know." He admitted. "I'm not even sure if she's going anywhere. But I have a feeling Slam. There's something too distant in Joanie."

Slam sighed heavily but pulled Breeze upwards.

"She won't be able to see us at this angle." He said. "I don't blame her Breeze."

Breeze shook his head.

"She blames herself and that's the problem Slam." He said. "Hang on a moment, there's a large window coming up for her. She might be able to see us there."

They watched the tiny girl as she carried forward. She had a hand rested on each dog.

Behind each dog, they now noticed, there was also a guard.

As the future Queen, it was no surprise.

The two boys followed her until she reached her room. There, Joanie bid the guards to stay outside. Breeze and Slam flew to where they could see what was going on inside the large windowed room.

It took a moment or two for Joanie to turn on the light.

They quietly observed her until she started to undress.

"Nothing left to see here." Breeze said softly. "I was so sure…"  
Slam sighed and patted his friend on the shoulder.

"We can tell the girls to help us watch her." He said. "I think she's still too shocked to try anything. If she was ever planning to…"

&&&

Joanie slowly counted to a hundred as she stared at the darkness of her roof.

The boys had been outside.  
She didn't know why or who had initiated it but Slam and Breeze had felt it appropriate to follow her outside.   
Her temper stirred.  
What did they think she was? Stupid? An invalid?  
Up to no good?  
Her temper dimmed as some heat flared on her cheeks.  
They knew her too well.  
Reaching a hundred she sat up on the bed and scratched the two dogs. She slipped off of the bed and quietly put her clothes back on. Keeping out of the moonlight she sneaked to the door and placed her ear against it to hear what was going on outside.  
The two guards were softly talking to each other. Both were expressing continued disbelieve that the wingdom had lost another heir.

Another ruler.

The Queen.   
Her mother.

She couldn't remember when exactly she had started to think of Dame Skyla as such. It had happened quietly and suddenly. She suspected it started when they had come back from the Past. She had made a choice then to come back to her Dame Skyla and had told the young Skyla that she was coming back for her mother.

The word just stayed around.  
She didn't have the guts to call her that of course. She didn't know what Dame Skyla would think.

The guards continued to discuss the tragedy of the past day.

Joanie closed her eyes and stuffed her fist into her mouth to keep herself from screaming at them.

Her mother was not dead.  
She knew it, she could _feel_ it. There was no denying the feeling in her heart that there was something that she could do.

Something other than grieve that is. She couldn't believe that the others were so willing to give up.  
Moving back to her bed Joanie went on her knees and pulled out the small and light travelling bag she had prepared that morning. She had been meaning to leave when her friends had stopped her in the corner.  
Joanie wished they never did.

There was something heavy in her pocket.  
Unable to stop herself Joanie reached into the deep pocket and drew out the glove.  
The stone felt cold against her fingers.

She wondered whether or not she should leave it. What she was planning was reckless and dangerous. There were also no reassurances that she was going to come back. It would be better if she left it here, in her room, for the others to find. She could even get Whirl and Twirl to guard it.  
She glanced at the dogs that wagged two curly tails at her.  
Surely, they won't let anybody but the Skydancers touch it…

Her heart constricted.  
But…  
What if they did? What if the stone fell into the wrong hands?  
Skyclone must be desperate to get at it. He had lost a lot of man power when he lost three of his Hurricanes and it normally took him some time to gather more strength to summon more but…  
She shivered.  
No, she could not have that on her conscience as well.  
The Skyswirlstone would have to go back into her pocket.

Shouldering the bag, she made sure that the guard were still at the door and started towards the window.  
Both dogs sat up suddenly and whined. Twisting their heads to the side they jumped off of the bed and bounded over to her.  
Joanie froze and turned around.

"Whirl! Twirl! Sssh!" She hissed. "Quiet you two, quiet!"

They danced around her and pulled at her clothing.

She hunched down quickly and grabbed both dogs around the neck in a half choke, half hug.

"Quiet, please." She begged again. "They'll all come down on me. Hush now."

She shifted her choke hold and rather started patting both of them.   
Pleased with themselves the dogs quieted down and rolled onto their backs so that she could rub their stomachs.  
Joanie felt a sudden lump in her throat as her hands travelled over their sleek bodies.

"You lost someone too." She whispered. "You miss her too. I… I'm all you have."  
The dogs sighed content.  
The lump grew as Joanie fought it.

"I'm all the wingdom has as well." She said softly. "But… I can't stay you two. I can't. I have to try and save her. She's my mother. My first mother. I have to go."

They whined softly, but didn't bark again.  
Joanie took a deep breath to fight the urge to cry and carefully went over to her closet. She took two scarves from the drawers she rarely opened and went back to the dogs.

"It's not that I don't trust you." She said softly as she tied one around their muzzles. "But, there's too much at stake for me now to be discovered."  
Done, she patted their heads.

"You can come with me to the Tinker's but then I'm leaving you on your own."  
If she could leave, she thought bitterly as she went to the window.  
The Tinker might not be as loyal to her as he had been to the previous Queen.

&&&


	6. For Loyalty

**Chapter 06: For Loyalty.**

Strangely enough, it took only two knocks to rouse the man.  
Joanie stood back as the Tinker opened the door without even querying who it was.   
When he saw her he stopped dead and glared at her.

"Joanie-Ellen, what in the name of the Stars are you doing here?"  
Very few people used her full name quite like he did.

"You should be in bed child, tomorrow is a big day. The day after even more." He looked around. "And, what are you doing on your own? You have responsibilities now. You can't go tromping around in the middle of the night!"

Joanie stood very still, allowing the tirade to flow over her. When she was sure the man had said all that he wanted to say she took a steadying breath and looked up, shifting her weight as she met his gaze.

"Can I come in please?" She queried.  
He frowned at her.

"I don't know, can you?"  
Joanie bit her tongue to keep her temper down.

"May I come in please Master Tinker?"

The man glared at her for a moment or two then sighed softly.

"Of course my dear." He said softly and stepped aside. "I am not known for my tendency to let queens stand on my doorstep. Come in, warm yourself by the fire."  
Joanie flinched when he mentioned her new future title but didn't say anything.

"Thank you." She muttered and walked in past him. Whirl and Twirl, after begging a pat from the old man, followed in her wake and sank down in front of the fire. After a moment's consideration Joanie joined them. She had taken the scarves from their muzzles just before she had knocked on the Tinker's door.

Waiting for the Tinker to lock his door, she looked around the cottage. Although she could remember nothing of that visit, it had been the first place she had ever been to in the wingdom, brought here by Queen Skyla to save her from a terrible pneumonia.

Joanie bit her lip to keep herself from choking up and rather turned her attention on something else. There were a lot of boxes standing around, a lot of which she was almost sure she hadn't seen before.

Dusty books, lamps, maps and clothes she'd never seen before lay littered around the usually neat if cluttered cottage.

She frowned up at the old man as he closed the door behind him.

"Have I come at a bad time?"

The Tinker shook his head with a sigh.

"Not at all pet." He said and moved towards the kitchen. "I was just busy sorting through… Some things. Do you want anything to drink?"

Joanie shook her head but realised that he couldn't see her.

"I'm fine thanks." She said. "I ah… Don't want to stay very long."

The old man turned around to raise a bushy eyebrow at her.

"Oh?" He queried and returned to the living room. "To what do I owe the pleasure then? Surely you can't have questions already. It took Skyla at least a forth night to come knocking at my door." There was a sadly fond spark in his eye when he mentioned the missing queen. "Even young Joanie." He continued. "If it was just to cry…"

Joanie's temper flared briefly.

"I have no time for tears!" She snapped before she took a calming breath. "And, I don't want to cry. I ah… Do have a few questions. But, not of the kingdom. I guess, as important as it is, it's not my concern at the moment."

The Tinker frowned as he sat down in his chair.

"Oh?" He queried puzzled. "And what is?"

Joanie took a deep breath.

"My mother."

The Tinker sat back, visibly startled.

"You have never called her that in my presence before." He said softly.

Joanie didn't say anything but glared at him defiantly.

The old man sighed and sat forward.

"Dear child." He said finally. "She is not your concern anymore. There is nothing you can do for her. Accept it and move on."

Joanie sniffed. "I won't." She said stubbornly. "I won't let this go until we've attempted some type of rescue. We can't just leave her! We can't."

The Tinker shook his head sadly.

"You can't go child." He said firmly. "You have to move on, there is nothing you can do for her. Move on."

Joanie jumped to her feet in a second.

"I can't!" She snapped. "And, I don't believe that! Master Tinker, I know there's a way. I can feel it and I can see it in your eyes!" She swept her hands around the room. "And, slap me if I'm wrong but you're planning a trip! You're going to try and save her yourself."

When the Tinker didn't say anything Joanie pulled herself up to her full, if limited, height.

"You can help me." She said. "But, you can also choose not to. But, know, I can get out of here tonight a lot quicker than you will. And then I will try this all by myself and heaven knows what will happen then. Help me Master Tinker or…" She didn't finish her sentence but fixed him with her best imitation of Dame Skyla's regal stare.

The Tinker stared at her for a full minute before a gentle smile arranged itself on his face.

"There is more of her in you than you know young Joanie." He said. "You provide a valid argument. Sit down please, and listen. I will tell you what I know, if only to hopefully discourage you and show you how hopeless this situation is."

He waited until Joanie settled down again, a bit weak in the knees from her outlet of emotions, and took a deep breath and sat back.

"So." He murmured. "Where to begin?" He rubbed his brow.  
Joanie sat forward expectantly, causing both dogs to wag their tails.

"The Crystal Mountains." She said immediately. "Do you know where they are? What do you know of them? And the curse? Why are they so dangerous?"

The Tinker held up his hands.

"Easy there." He said. "All in good time." He thought for a moment. "The Crystal Mountains… That's a good a place to start as any." He patted his pockets and drew out a pipe. He hesitated for a moment as his thoughts roamed his mind and for a moment looked as if he was reconsidering telling her anything.  
Joanie bit her lip and swallowed.

The Tinker found his pipe tobacco in his pocket and lit the pipe as she waited in anticipation. Finally he sighed and sat back, puffing blue smoke into the air as he did.

"The Crystal Mountains is a mountain range deep in the heart of the Flightless Realm." He said. "Which is why you probably have not heard of it. As far as I know, now one from this realm has ever ventured there. It is seen as sacred amongst its inhabitants. All I know, I've learned from books."

Joanie hesitated, milling the words over in her mind.

"Why do they call it the Flightless Realm?" She queried.

The Tinker raised an eyebrow.

"Is it not obvious young Skydancer?" He queried kindly. "We can not fly there. No creature from the Sky Realm can. It is not forbidden for us of course, but – we depend on our flight and therefore, the lack of it is a threat enough to keep away most adventurers."  
Joanie's eyes widened slightly.

"How does that work?" She queried surprised.

"There is a border." The Tinker answered her. "Set between our Realm and theirs. The border is… A border. Like an ocean between continent. No one put it there, it has just always been that way. Once you cross it, your wings simply stop working. No matter how high up you are."   
Joanie winched at the thought.

"Can nothing fly there?" She queried surprised. "I mean. There are birds, insects… All that kind of stuff."

The Tinker nodded.

"They can." He said. "And… Another."

He didn't elaborate further and Joanie was already thinking too far ahead to notice the addition in his sentence.

"Okay." She said. "Tell me of this curse."

She had not been present when he had explained it to the others.

The Tinker sighed and puffed his pipe.

"It does not have a name or an origin." He said simply. "I can't even tell you how it works young Joanie. Nobody here knows."  
The young girl frowned at him.

"But then how do you know about it?" She queried.

The Tinker looked at her for a long time then sighed and stood up.

He moved to the table, collected a book that was spread open on it and came back to hand it to her.

When Joanie took it he sat back down in the chair and gave her a level look.

"Everything there is to know about the Flightless Realm as far as our knowledge go." He said. "The marked pages are those that briefly mention the curse. The references are more about the stone. Or, the heart of the mountain as they call it."

Joanie blinked at the Tinker, then at the thick, leather bound book.

It had no title and was completely hand written.

She wasted no time to skip to the pages that were marked and quickly scanned them.  
"It doesn't say how to lift it." She said. "How can a curse not be lifted? That's just buggered."

The Tinker didn't say anything, only stared at her.  
Joanie sniffed and quickly started paging through the book.  
"Where did you get this?"

The Tinker shrugged lightly and took up his pipe again.  
"An old traveller compiled it." He said. "An adventurous young man who thought the world was too small for him." The old man chuckled slightly. "He was sadly mistaken."

Joanie skipped from chapter to chapter and eventually jumped to the conclusion. She frowned slightly as she scanned the words.

"He speaks of a treasure that he brought with." She said. "An offer of alliance. What was that? The stone? How did it come here?"  
The Tinker shook his head.  
"The stone was not the offer." He said. "It's been here a very long time. As to the offer, he never said."

Joanie's frowned slightly and sniffed. She looked up towards the window then back to the book.

"Who was the alliance with?" She queried. "Are there people there?"  
The Tinker looked at her for a long time before he stood up and took the book from her. After paging around for a bit he found what he was looking for and handed the book back to her.  
"Here."  
Joanie looked at the pages.

A horse with wings stared back at her, as goose bumps travelled up her arms.   
"Who is this?" She queried, suddenly breathless, her hands itching to imitate the brush strokes of the drawing.  
The Tinker leaned back and gave her an unreadable look.

"The Winged Horse." He said. "Lord of the Flightless Realm."

Joanie was mesmerized by the picture.

"Is he still around there?" She queried stunned.  
The Tinker nodded. "Is and probably will be for a very long time."

Joanie slammed the book shut so quickly that it caused the dogs to bark.

"I'll ask him." She stated and jumped up. "He can take me to the Crystal Mountains."

The Tinker stood up quickly and barred her way to keep her from charging to the door.

"It doesn't work that way Joanie-Ellen." He said sternly. "You can't just go charging in there demanding his help. What you must remember is that he is not someone to be commanded. He is the ruler there, the equivalent of our Queen and King. You bow before him Joanie and even then you can not just request his help. He is not open to requests. Negotiations perhaps, but never requests."   
Joanie frowned at the Tinker then down at the book in her hands.

"Negotiations?" She queried carefully.  
The Tinker sighed and sat back.

"You will go even if I don't instruct you." He said as if to himself. "And you might meet him, even without my guidance. There's no use trying to change fate is there." He sighed and sat forward again. "You have to prove to him that you are worthy Joanie-Ellen. Either that or beat him fare and square at a challenge."

Joanie frowned and sat down slowly.

"What type of challenge?" She asked.

The Tinker sighed.

"Read the page just before the drawing."

It took the young Skydancer a moment or two to find it.  
When she found it she frowned slightly and read out loud.

"To gain something, you must risk everything."

She glanced at the Tinker.

"That's not fair."

The man shrugged.

"Is life?" He queried tiredly. "You are a gifted, young woman. Yet, you were born into circumstances that almost didn't allow you to ever achieve your full potential. Fair? No. Queen Skyla loves her husband, more than I have ever seen anybody love another. He gets taken from her even before they can have a child. And then, she is haunted by his presence, but haunted with the knowledge that she will never see him again. Fair?" He hesitated, seeing Joanie's expression. "No. I'm sorry I upset you child."  
Joanie struggled to control her raging emotions. She had unconsciously grabbed her skirt and was holding it in balled fists.  
Whirl and Twirl whined softly and came to lick her face but she pushed them away as she stood up again.

"Life is not fair." She agreed coldly as she got her emotions under control. "I'm going to the Crystal Mountains Master Tinker. Thank you for your help."  
She moved towards the door.  
The Tinker quickly stepped in front of her though and gave her a pleading look.

"Don't go Joanie." He said tensely. "You are the next Queen in the Wingdom. If something happens to you all hope is lost."  
Joanie glared at him but didn't try to step past him.

"If I don't get Dame Skyla back." She said sternly. "All hope is lost anyway. I have to do this Master Tinker. It's my duty. I promised her that I will serve her and her alone. Let me keep that promise. Please. I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to."

The Tinker sighed and shook his head.

After a long consideration he stepped aside.  
Joanie breathed a sigh of relief and nodded her thanks.

"How will I find the horse?" She queried as she stepped past the Tinker to the door.  
The man didn't look at her, but rather at the book in her hands.

"There's a map on the back page." He said. "You should be able to follow it from the sky. For tonight, just carry on west. There's a compass hanging by the door, take it as well."

Joanie nodded numbly and glanced at a compass hanging from the coat peg.

"Don't let the other's follow me." She said. "Don't even tell them where I went or give me directions. I'm not going to stop tonight. They won't be able to catch up if they only find out I'm gone tomorrow morning." She gave the old man a pointed look, warning him not to tell them.

The Tinker nodded. "I'll keep the dogs here." He said. "And I will only tell your friends if you don't return."  
Joanie nodded and collected the compass. After a moment's hesitation she turned back suddenly and gave the Tinker a fleeting hug.

"I'll bring her back." She said. "I promise. I'll bring her back."   
There was a tight edge to her voice.  
The Tinker nodded and carefully returned the brief sign of affection that he received so rarely from the tiny girl.

"If there is any hope." The Tinker said. "Then it rests with you."   
The girl stepped away from him, but he got her attention one last time.

"Don't worry about the Horse." He said as she reached the door. "You can't find him. But, he will find you."


	7. Discoveries and Choices

**Chapter 7: Discoveries and Choices. **

Jade lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Her chest felt tight with pain, her thoughts clouded with it. She had not slept a lot and when she had; her nightmares had been overtaken by her grief.

She remembered this pain, or an echo of it.

Years ago, her mother had walked out on her father to pursue a career in acting. She had not said a word to Jade before hand and the little girl, who had been happily oblivious to the vibes between her parents, had not seen it coming. She still remembered the way the suitcases had felt when she touched them as they stood by the door, smell the perfume her mother was wearing when she came down the stairs, pulling on the gloves she was so fond of wearing. Jade had asked her where she was going and she had replied quite calmly that she was going away for a bit and that Jade had to stay with her father. She could not understand that her mother wanted to leave and had begged and pleaded with her to take her with her. The woman had kindly, but firmly pushed her in the house and had locked the door. Jade had been too small to reach the lock and by the time she had pulled a chair closer to unlock it, her mother had already left.

The pain of the memory constricted her heart but somehow, Jade knew that it was nothing to what she was feeling now. She had not liked Dame Skyla in the beginning. The glove she wore had reminded her too much of her mother, the grace she had and her beauty. Yet somehow, she had started to realize that Dame Skyla was nothing like her mother and that there was a responsibility in the woman that her mother never had.

And a compassion.

Skyla had proved over and over that she would, figuratively speaking, never leave her own child to pursue her own career.  
Jade turned on her side, hugging her pillow to her chest and cried again softly when the pain became too much.  
_What was she going to do now?_

By all accounts, Skyla had replaced the image of her mother in her mind. She could not help herself or even feel guilty that she had turned her back on her own mother. The woman had guided her, had taught her about life, about love and about responsibility, something her mother never did.  
And, she knew somehow that Skyla had loved her as much as she had loved her. Jade had also always admired her for the way she loved Joanie, the young wayward orphan who nobody wanted.

_What were they going to do now?_

The answers were painfully simple and she hated them.

_Carry on. _

_Teach and guide Joanie.  
Go home, make up a story for the rest of the world. _

_Protect Joanie. _

When her tears stopped Jade sighed and looked out of the window, noticing the increasing light. Even though she didn't want to, she dragged herself up out of bed and went through the motions of making herself presentable for the rest of the world.  
It was a strange thought that Joanie was going to be the next wingdom Queen. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it. Of all of them, Joanie had been in the wingdom for the shortest time and was also the youngest. And, she had a History.

Before anybody bullied her into becoming Queen, Jade wanted to have a little talk with her. If Joanie really didn't feel up to this, she wasn't going to allow the others to push her into it.

When Jade left her room the sun had just cleared the horizon. She heard the breakfast chime but ignored it as she finished tying the black sash to her shoulder. Everybody else wore white but the Skydancers and she guessed the Tinker and the Councilwoman were allowed to wear black. Jade didn't fully understand the custom.

The people nodded or bowed at her as she covered the short distance between her and Joanie's room. It was strange to see the guards there and her first reaction was to think that Joanie had done something wrong. But, the moment passed as quickly as it came when she remembered that it was custom to guard the queen.

Even the future one.

Her throat tightened but she took a deep breath and swallowed her tears. She nodded at the guards when they saluted her and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Jade frowned and knocked again, louder this time, remembering that the dogs were in there as well. Why aren't they barking?

"Joanie?" She called as she knocked again. "Whirl, Twirl?"

The guards shifted uneasily and glanced at her.

"Is there a problem Lady?" One queried.

Jade tried to door and realized that it was unlocked.

"I don't know." She said before opening it. "Was she quiet all night?"

The guards nodded at once.

"There was no trouble."

Jade's stomach turned as she slowly opened the door to the dark room.

"Joanie sweetie…" She called into the dark. "Whirl, Twirl?"

The little light escaping from behind the closed curtains showed her all that she needed to see.  
The room was empty.

Cold shock vibrated through Jade's body, for a few seconds she could not think, then when the guards stormed into the room she grabbed one by the arm and brought him to face level with her.

"Did you hear anything suspicious last night?" She snapped. "Anything at all?"

Numbly the guards shook their heads. Before they could say anything Jade ran out of the room and rushed to one a few doors down the hallway. She felt a wave of relief when she noticed that it was open and rushed inside.

"Joanie…" She began but stopped. "Camille?"

The African-American looked up from where she had been sitting on the floor and dropped her head ashamed.

"Jade… I…" She couldn't say anything and rubbed at the tears on her cheeks.

Jade's chest was almost unbearably tight as she gasped for breath, despite her short run. Her eyes danced around the room. "Is Joanie here?" She asked and stepped forward to help Camille up. "Have you seen Joanie, Camille?"

Her friend shook her head.

"I… I couldn't sleep." She tried to defend herself. "And, I don't know. I came to Skyla's room…"

Unable to help herself Jade leaned over and gave her distraught friend a fierce hug.

"It's okay." She said softly. "You did nothing wrong Camille. Is Joanie here? Had she been here? She's not in her room!"

Camille visibly gathered herself and shook her head.

"I haven't seen her." She said, panic replacing the shame in her voice. "I've been here all night; I haven't seen her at all."

A shadow darkened the doorway.

Slam frowned when he saw them in the room but refused to step inside. "What are you two doing in Skyla's room?" He asked accusingly. "It's not right…"  
When he saw Jade's panicked expression he cut off what he was saying. "What's going on you guys?"

Jade squeezed Camille's shoulder and pushed her forward.

"Send out an alert." She said. "Joanie's gone Slam. Along with Whirl and Twirl. She's not in her room and she's not here. We came to look."

Slam cursed as Camille pushed past him.

"I knew it!" He snapped. "I knew she was going to try something! Damn it!" He held out his hand for Jade.

"Let's go get the others!"

&&&

Two hours later every inch of the palace had been searched. Every nook, every cranny, every room and every patch of ground in the gardens. Joanie was small and had spent a lot of time exploring the palace grounds before she had gotten her wings. She knew a lot of hiding places and had liked to go to them when she wanted to be alone. With the dogs gone too though they knew that Joanie could not just hide anywhere.

When the five friends got together again in the courtyard their frustration was almost palatable.

"She's not in the palace grounds." Angelica said irritated. "I don't think she's here you guys. I don't think she ever was."

Breeze shook his head angrily.

"She's gone to look for Skyla." He said. "I knew it. Damn it! I knew that she would do this." He gave Slam a desperate look who shook his head.

"The Tinker said that it's impossible to get to Skyla." Camille said, waving her one hand. "How could Joanie be so reckless?"

Jade sighed and shook her head.

"You know Joanie." She said. "She doesn't take no for an answer. Or rather, not when it is from anybody other than Skyla. She would throw herself in the fire for that woman. She doesn't really care about the wingdom. It's only Skyla in her mind."

Breeze shook his head.

"We have to find her." He said. "Catch up with her and bring her back. She's got other responsibilities now."

Slam ran his hand through his hair.

"She's got a heck of a head start." He said. "But, you're right, we have to find her. We should go to the Tinker now and hear what he has to say. He'll be able to point us in the right direction."

The rest nodded their agreement.

"I'll stay here." Camille said. "I'll keep the council occupied. They are catching snakes out there. They don't like this one bit. You guys find our ward and bring her back before there's trouble!"

&&&

The Tinker did not open the door, but at the second knock it opened by itself.

The four Skydancers frowned at each other and stepped inside. Twin barks erupted from somewhere in the kitchen and seconds later Whirl and Twirl stormed out. Their first aggression disappeared immediately when they noticed their friends. Whining with glee they threw themselves at the students.

The Skydancers looked at each other and went inside immediately, going to the small kitchen immediately. The Tinker did not look up when they entered but five cups were already laid out.

"The water will be ready in a moment." He said. "You can sit yourselves down in the living room; the kitchen is not big enough for all of us."

The Skydancers didn't move.

The Tinker had aged over night. His back was more hunched, his hair seemingly thinner and his eyes pale. His usually nimble hands shook as he busied himself with the tea. He did not look at any of them.

Breeze cleared is throat, despite his distress at seeing the man this faded; he could not ignore the pressing matter that had brought them there.

"Where's Joanie Master Tinker?" He queried. "We take it she was here last night."

The man did not look at him; instead he rather turned his back on the boy and busied himself in a cupboard.

"When Skyler disappeared." He said softly. "I had sedated Skyla every evening. Partly to let her sleep, but also partly to keep her here. She had been desperate to find her husband, refusing to believe the inevitable. Time passed and at some point I decided that she was settled enough. I knew I couldn't keep drugging her, so I stopped and hoped for the best. The next morning she was gone. Disappeared. Even Whirl and Twirl," the dogs whined at their names, "they had been a gift form Skyler when she had just come to the palace."

Angelica read the danger signs in Breeze's eyes and lay a gentle hand on her boyfriend's shoulder to keep his temper under control.

"When did she come back?" She asked rather. "Or did you have to go and find her?"  
The Tinker glanced at her and sighed softly.

"When she was ready." He said. "Four days later. She came back, took responsibility for her disappearance and then the wingdom."

"Where did she go?" Jade asked.

The Tinker shook his head.

"She never said and I never asked." He said. "She went to do what ever she had to do to make piece with her husband's death and find out whether there was anything she could do to bring him back. What ever she had found in that time might not have brought her peace, but it brought a kind of absolution. She had truly tried everything."

Slam's hands were balled in fists.

"And will Joanie find absolution?" He snapped. "How could you let her go Master Tinker? I take it she went to find Skyla."

The Tinker nodded and took the kettle from the hot plate. Without a word he poured them all a cup of tea and motioned to Jade to bring the tray to the living room. He walked past them without looking any of them in the eye.

"When did she leave?" Angelica asked, pulling Breeze out of the kitchen with her.

"Late last night." The old man said. "And, if your next question is: Do you have a map? The answer is no. You can not follow Joanie, she took the only map with her."

"How could you let her go?" Slam asked again, his voice thick with emotion.

The tinker sighed tiredly and sat down on the nearest chair.

"I couldn't stop her." He said.

"You could've called us!" Breeze said heatedly. "Master Tinker, you said that we can't go! That it's dangerous, that Skyla's lost to us. How, _how_ could you let Joanie go? She's a child."

The look he got from the Tinker wasn't heated, but intense and full of a power that the man rarely showed.

"As are all of you." He said. "Never forget that. You are just as new to this as she is. And, I let her go because of hope Breeze. And old man's hope."

Jade almost started crying again, she barely managed to control the emotion.

"But you said that there's no hope." She accused. "You told us that we can't go, that we will not be able to find Skyla. You said we should have no hope!"

The power behind the Tinker's gaze vanished as he seemed to shrink within himself.

"Because, by rights, Joanie's the only one who can have it." He said. "I did not lie to you, but I did not tell you the full truth. None of us can go and save Skyla, none of us have the power to break the curse. I was planning to go anyway when young Joanie arrived even if I knew I would fail. But Joanie, young Joanie-Ellen… If anybody can, then it's her. She is the only one among us who loves as single-mindedly as she does. She did not let herself be discouraged by my words or duty. No, if anybody can, then it's her."

Slam was pale.

"But our duty was to protect her!" Slam said. "Our duty is still that! How can you ask us to disregard that?"

The Tinker shook his head.

"I'm not asking you to disregard it." He said. "You're duty is to protect the wingdom and that is what I ask you to do now. There are more important things now than young Joanie-Ellen. You must use everything Skyla has taught you to protect the wingdom from Skyclone, because when he hears that Joanie has left with the Skyswirlstone he will try to strike at the heart of the capital before she comes back. And, you must keep the people calm. Give them hope, even if you have nothing. That is what your duties are now."

Breeze started to protest but Angelica put a gentle hand on his arm.

"Joanie…" She hesitated. "Will she be able to like, bring Skyla back?"

The Tinker shook his head tiredly.

"Only time will tell." He said. "Only time will tell."

&&&

To Be Continued…

_AN: I should stop saying that things will go quickly because then ultimately they don't, lol. Hallo everybody! Yes, still alive (even if at this very moment I wish I wasn't) and still writing. I'm not making any promises, but the next chapter might just be up by next week. ;) have a good one! I believe that you all have summer holidays now? Lovely. Enjoy till next time!_

_Alyss_


	8. To Break

_AN: Language warning here, I would like to apologize in advance if I offend anybody with the few power words that I use here. I realise that it's become common place for people to curse but I still don't like it. I've become one of those people who, when I _do_ curse the day, people stop and stare because they've never heard me do so. Of course, I have to keep in mind what my character would do in such a situation and yes. LOL. Joanie would curse. Loudly and vilely. So, my apologies in advance. ;) _

**Chapter 08: To Break. **

_Coming… Closer._  
_He opened raised his head and looked at the sky. _

_Of course. He knew._ She _was here._

_And the other… Coming closer._

_He shook his head and spread his wings._  
_Closer._

&&&

The landscape was unrecognizable below her wings.

Joanie took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, allowing all her senses to rest. She relaxed her whole body and waited a few moments as she felt herself slowly descending. Then, just as she felt herself pick up speed she spread her arms, opened her eyes and flew up again. She yawned and glanced at the sun. By her guess, it was almost midday. She glanced down at the landscape and flew a bit slower. Taking the book from the bag dangling from her chest she looked at the map and looked around for any of the beacons she could see highlighted out for her. She studied the star shaped mountain on the map and glanced at its counterpart below her. She briefly considered going down to land and rest a bit but by her guess she was very close to the Flightless Realm's border. No more than an hour or two's flight. Joanie shook her head and slipped the book back into her bag. She could rest when she was there.

Joanie was tired, she had flown most of the night, only stopping briefly to nibble on the bread she had with her and take a short rest. She had wanted to take a nap but was too afraid that she might fall asleep and only wake up again when the others found her. She glanced behind her nervously as she started flying again. The only one who had the speed and stamina to follow her was Slam.

And she would really hate to meet him at this very moment.  
She knew that he would be angry with her. She had imagined his mental rant all the way here, if only to inspire her to fly faster.

Joanie yawned, flew up higher and carried on as fast as she could. Her mind drifted through tired thoughts as she moved ever forward. Time was her biggest concern. She wasn't sure whether there was a time limit bound to when Dame Skyla had to be rescued but she wasn't going to find out. She was also worried that it would take her a long time to find the winged horse. She didn't have a lot of faith in the Tinker's last words.

It took her a few seconds to realize that she was falling.

Joanie jerked and spread her arms quickly, cursing herself for almost falling asleep. It was not the first time it happened.

She was still falling.

With her heart thundering in her chest Joanie tried to twist herself into the correct position.

_No._ She thought. _Oh stars, not now. Not…_

She tried to scream but the wind knocked the very breath out of her. The map was _wrong_.

For a few precious seconds her mind froze as she picked up speed, then, realizing that she had to do something Joanie tried to spread her wings and glide back across the border. By now though she had picked up too much speed and couldn't get her wings into position. Joanie closed her eyes and waited for impact.

A strange crosswind suddenly knocked her sideways. Joanie spun to the side and instinctively grabbed out with her arms to try and steady herself. Her hand tangled in something and she grabbed at it desperately. For a moment her arm jerked as she stopped her freefall and that was enough to make her swing her whole body against it, wrapping her arm around the solid warm object. Her fall stopped immediately as she jerked to a stop. Joanie sobbed with relief and pulled herself closer, feeling the object breathe.

Life.  
For a few moments the world was almost serene. She could feel her rescuer breathing against her chest body. She opened her eyes but could see only a sickeningly white and silver mess that moved in rhythm with a soft whooshing sound. She closed her eyes again and pulled herself closer. She got the sense that their movement slowed as the beating grew louder and faster. A few seconds later Joanie felt something push against her side. She looked at the object and blinked.

It was a tree.

Joanie shivered and pulled herself closer, waiting for them to decent but they seemed to have stopped. Joanie looked up and for the first time realised that she was clinging to her rescuer's neck.  
It was the winged horse.

Her breathing quickened but she could not make herself speak. The horse turned its head slightly and snorted. Joanie looked back at the tree and realised that there was an open branch a few centimetres below her. The horse snorted again tossed its head. Joanie felt a touch of caution and glanced at the branch. Taking a steadying breath she relaxed her body a bit and slowly lowered her feet until she touched the branch. Without warning the horse whinnied, flattened its ears against its head and jerked away from her. Joanie lost her hold and her balance and all of a sudden found herself toppling forward as the horse flew up.

"No!" She yelled and tried to dive for a branch. With her balance off, she misjudged where she should've grabbed and hit her chin against the wood. Luckily though she managed to get her one arm around it and hold on as her legs dangled below her. Tightening her face in pain, touching the inside of her cheek where she had bit it Joanie looked around vigorously and tried to see where the horse had gone.

"Wait!" She yelled at it. "Wait! I want to talk to you! Please! Wait!"

She managed to get the branch under each of her shoulders and tried to swing her legs up. The horse circled around once then flew away, down into the trees.

Joanie growled with frustration and tried to test her wings. They were still useless. The little girl sniffed as she struggled to get a secure hold on the branch.

"STOP! Damn you!" She yelled one last time but got no answer for her effort. Feeling her arms begin to shiver Joanie looked up, then around her to see what her situation was.

"Fuck it." She whispered softly. "Fucked fucker…" She blushed suddenly, hearing Dame Skyla reprimanding her on her language from memory. Joanie managed to hook her one leg around the branch and slowly moved to the tree trunk, very conscious of the sickening movement of the tree.

"He dropped me in a tree." She told the memory. "In a bloody tree…" She experienced a moment's lapse of vertigo and pulled herself closer to the branch. "It's the foster home all over again. You can't expect me to be quiet about that." She whispered when it passed. "Fucking horse." Her stomach twisted with her old fear of heights. She reached the middle trunk and carefully wrapped first her legs, then her arms around it. She slit down a few centimetres to the next branch and stayed there to gather her wits. When she looked down she felt a horrible sense of déjà vu. It was even higher than when she had gotten herself stuck in a tree when she was little. Joanie moaned and hugged the tree trunk, her stomach twisting in knots. This was not happening.

She longingly looked up at the sky, feeling sickened by the tree's movements. She silently prayed that help would miraculously appear but she knew that she was on her own. There was no Max to get her out of the tree, no Dame Skyla to catch her.

The last thought sent a jabbing pain through Joanie's heart and she suddenly found herself swallowing tears. The horse was her only hope to getting to Dame Skyla and getting down this tree was her only way of getting to the horse. Joanie shivered as she looked down again. She hugged the trunk again but then forced herself to relax.

"Come on." She muttered softly, willing her arms to move. "It's not that hard… You've done worse. Just… Look for a branch…"

She spotted a branch a little bit below the branch that she was on. She tried to judge the distance and decided that she would be able to reach it if she slit down the branch that she was on. That was all getting down a tree was about. Finding one branch lower and reachable from the one that you are on.

Yes.   
Joanie took a deep breath and slowly positioned herself so - so that she could start climbing down. Reaching the first branch was nerve wrecking, reaching the second and the third felt like slow suicide. The further down she went, the further apart the branches became. Joanie knew very well that she was never destined to become six foot and never worried about her length, even when the others gently teased her about it.  
But, now – as she was dangling a life threatening distance from the ground Joanie wished that she had just a little bit more reach. At some point, quite a few metres from the ground still, Joanie found herself hanging between two branches. She had misjudged how far the one was and her arms were shaking too much to pull herself back up. Joanie, breathing heavily, looked up and tried to rub her face on her shoulders to get the sweat out of her yes. Glancing down was not an option. She was still far to high off of the ground. None the less…  
She quickly glanced down and realised that the branch had not miraculously moved closer to her. She looked around her, trying to spot a branch closer and within easier reach but it was hopeless. She had reached the point of no return when it came to reaching that branch. Joanie bit her lip then took a steadying breath. She focused on the branch and let go of the one she was holding onto. Joanie spread her arms and wings for balance as her feet landed on the branch. Joanie endured a few heart stopping moments as her balanced toppled but then, as she spread her wings and straightened her back she felt herself comfortably settle on the branch. She smiled, suddenly quite pleased with herself and slowly turned around so that she could come closer to the trunk.

The branch cracked.  
Joanie had a second to realise what was going on before it gave way below her completely. She yelled and tried to grab another branch but found herself plummeting downwards. Joanie closed her eyes and felt the branches whip and hit against her body. One impact on her side turned her in the air and sent her falling down face first. She desperately tried to shield her face with one arm as she tried to grab something with the other but the branches disappeared and seconds later she crashed into the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of her and for a few moments all Joanie could do was cough as she tried to get some air. Instinctively she curled herself into a ball, moving to her knees and pressing her head against them as she wheezed a few painful breaths. Dust entered her nose and she sneezed several times, jolting her bruised chest. Endless minutes passed before she had her breath and senses back. Joanie took a few moments to collect her wits and slowly tried to push herself up. Pain shot through her right wrist when she moved it and she put her head down on the ground again immediately, sobbing softly. She hugged it to her chest, slowly becoming aware of more painful spots. Her right shoulder felt on fire. Joanie took a few steadying breaths and carefully pushed herself up with her left arm so that she could sit on her knees. When she opened her eyes, she realised quite suddenly that she wasn't alone.  
She stared at the two hooves for several moments before she looked up, squinting at the outline before her.  
The horse looked down at her, his ears alert; every now and again he would swish his tail.

Joanie closed her eyes and hugged her right arm to her chest. She moved her legs to try and get up but doubled over when another pain cut through her body. Joanie pressed her left hand against her side, feeling the sharp, painful sting. When she drew her hand away she could see a bit of blood and mud on it. Glancing down she saw that there was a tear in her shirt and blood was slowly but surely darkening it.

The horse snorted, tearing her attention back to him.  
Joanie looked up at him then suddenly, felt her temper slip.

"Get away from me!" She snapped as she struggled up. "Don't touch me you bastard! You fucking bastard!" She could not get up immediately but grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at the horse. "Back off!"

The horse snorted and moved a few steps back, tossing his head. His wings flapped once, sending a cloud of dust into her eyes. Joanie furiously rubbed at it, fully aware of every painful stitch in her body. She grabbed another handful of dirt, fully prepared to throw the beast again as she struggled up on shaky legs. When she found her balance she drew her hand back and searched for her target. The horse was still standing quite close, his wings neatly folded against his body. Joanie's arm tensed as she prepared to throw him but when the horse lifted his head slightly to look her in the eyes she paused, shaking. Her shoulder and side throbbed, making it hard to think of anything else.

"You almost killed me!" She snapped at him, furious. "You could've brought me to the ground but you didn't! You dumped me in that bloody tree!"  
The horse didn't flinch or even moved. All he did was look at her with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. There was a weight behind them that pressed against her, a piercing stare that felt as if it was pulling apart every inch of her.

Joanie suddenly felt like crying but kept her pose. She raised her hand, then dropped it suddenly, flinging the dirt away. Breathing heavily to try and keep her emotions under control she stared at the horse as he stared at her. She could feel him waiting for something.

And she knew what it was as well.  
She knew exactly who this was.  
Her temper flared again.

"I was told to bow before you!" She snapped heated. "But I won't! I won't! You can't do that! How dare you?!"

They stared at each other over the distance between them, Joanie's temper every bit a match for the coldness in the horse's eyes.

"I won't bow." Joanie said again, softer. "I won't. You don't deserve it."

Without warning, the horse flattened his ears, bared his teeth and charged at her with a snorted sound.

Joanie took in a sharp breath and tried to get out of his way. Instinctively she tried to spread her wings and fly up but the pain in her shoulder stopped her almost immediately. She stumbled over her own feet in haste and sat down on the ground with a hard thud. The horse stopped inches from her, kicking up some dirt and reared, kicking with his feet in the air. Joanie held her breath in fear as she watched his hooves fly above her head, his wings spread wide. Then, with a whiney the horse put his hooves back down on the ground and snapped at her, his ears still flat against his head. Joanie waited for him to trample her but instead he snorted, snapped at her again, then turned around and slowly walked away. Joanie stared after him in shock then leaned over and gingerly touched her side. It was still bleeding. She shivered and hugged herself, fear pulsing through her body. With the fear there though, there was no place for her temper. As she looked at the retreating animal her heart suddenly leaped when she realised that with him left her only chance to safe Skyla.

She struggled up and tried to run after him without coming to close.

"Wait!" She called. "Please, wait! I have to… Please!"

The animal tossed his tail in what she could sense was a rude, dismissive gesture.

Joanie stopped and clutched at her side.

"No." She whispered softly. "No, please…" She closed her eyes. "Okay!" She called. "Okay! I will…" She couldn't make herself say it but took a deep breath and slowly leaned forward, bowing to the horse as she had done to Skyla the day she received her feather. She didn't have the heart to see whether he stopped or not…

&&&

To Be Continued…

_AN: I think it only Edani who read the first version of this story and she said that she didn't remember how it went. ;) Anyway, just for intrest sake, this chapter changed quite a lot. My original AN after this chapter had been: I had a horse like this. LOL, minus the wings of course. This horse is based on one I had to ride ages ago. Very bebliksemde thing. Anyway, what I actually mean to say is that I'm going on holiday from Thursday (28__th__ June I think…) and then coming back on the 9__th__ of July. My university starts right after that so, just in case I suddenly disappear that's why. I'm taking my laptop with me on holiday, but I'm not sure how much time I'll get to write. It depends on the weather, lol. _

_Anyway, have a great day and week!  
_

_Oh, to Unknown Goddess, if you want, you are welcome to email me – then I can tell you when I've updated. That way you won't have to keep checking for an update. I'll just tell you. My email address is alyssac01 at hotmail dot com. filters out normal email addresses. You can also try alyssc01 at aim dot com. If you want, it's not prerequisite. This counts for any other anonymous readers as well. You're most welcome to contact me. As long as you don't go all stalker on me. ;) _

_Hugz!!   
Alyss. _


	9. The Majestic's Challenge

**Chapter 09: The Majestic's challenge.**

Above them the trees moved in the light wind, their leaves singing in the movements of the air. Yet, despite this sound – so akin to the ocean, it felt as if a blanket of silence had wrapped itself around the world.

Joanie-Ellen shook as she tried to hold her pose in the deep waist bow. There was a spot of sun on her neck which burned as sweat ran across it but it was nothing compared to the agony of her side. Her arm and chest throbbed, her chest tight with the pressure of her probably bruised ribs and there was a disturbingly slow sensation of blood flowing down her side.  
Yet, she remained a she was, her eyes closed in shame, her brow set in stubbornness. She knew that she could not move until _he_ did.

The book and the Tinker had named him the Lord of the Flightless Realm, the Winged Horse. According to the book which she had read snatches off as she was flying he was the keeper of this strange realm and the only one of the "higher beings" who could fly. The book had spoken of a lot of things; of a balance between worlds and had briefly mentioned the prospects of a realm beyond the flightless one. But, Joanie had not understood half of it had had not paid the other half any mind. All she had known, all she had understood was that this horse, this Lord of the Flightless Realm was the only one who could help her.

And now, he might not even turn to look at her.  
Tremors began to shake her body, causing sharp touches of agony to shoot down her arm and through her chest. She took a sharp breath and bit her lip, trying to force her beaten body to quiet down.  
_Please_, she begged silently, _please, damn you – help me. I can't do this on my own._

The sun disappeared as she felt something warm blow her in neck. Joanie opened her eyes to see the horse's two front legs close to her own. She took another steadying breath and bit her tongue, forcing herself to quiet down, cursing the tremors shaking her body.

"Rise and face me Silver Feather."

It did not feel as if his words were spoken but Joanie could hear them in the hollow of her ear. She became aware of a cold sensation around her, an echo of the tone of his words and touched her silver feather for reassurance. The cold sensation even clung to it. Breathing deeply Joanie slowly straightened her cramping muscles and looked up.

She had seen quite a few horses since she came to the academy. After their time travelling fiasco Angelica had taken them all to her family's ranch and had, in a strange gesture that the others didn't understand, kept on taking Joanie along. Joanie always wondered whether it was a way of trying to alleviate the guilt that she still felt over sending them back. Or perhaps a way of trying to earn the right to claim kinship to her again. She had not minded and had felt that any way she could help Angelica was good. Generally they did not get on very well and she had enjoyed those quiet moments when they were alone with her family's horses.  
Horses that came nowhere near the one that was now towering above her.

The Lord of the Flightless Realm was a magnificent white horse. Joanie didn't know horse breeds as well as Angelica felt she should but she could tell that he was no Thoroughbred. He was like a sculpture with a deep chest, strong neck and prominent face. Large wings, attached to strong shoulder muscles, were neatly folded on either side of his chest. Joanie had the briefest urge to reach out and touch them to feel whether or not they were real feathers or part of his coat but two cold blue orbs stopped her.

Joanie balled her fists and faced him defiantly.

The horse flattened his ears.

"Why are you trespassing in my realm Silver Feather?"

Joanie took a sharp breath to snap at him. A year ago, before she had met Skyla, she would've answered with something like:

'You didn't put up a sign.' Or 'It's a free country." But now, with need and Dame Skyla behind her she knew that there was only one way to handle this.  
Grinding her teeth she inclined her head slightly.

"I'm sorry." She said through closed teeth. "But… I had to. I came here to see you."

The horse snorted then flattened his ears and snapped at her.

"I am not some spectacle that you can just come and behold Silver Feather." He said and made to turn around. "You have seen, now you must leave."

Joanie blinked then quickly moved so that she remained in front of him. Her side pulled.

"No no no!" She said quickly. "I mean, I didn't come here as a tourist. I need your help. Please. I came here to ask your help! Your service."

The horse turned his head so that he could look at her with one eye.

"My service." He said with a snort that sounded very much like a dry chuckle. "You have come to ask the service of the Lord of the Flightless Realm?"  
There was too much mock in his tone for her to remain civil.

"Yes." She snapped. "Damn you, and then you almost killed me!"

He ignored the last and shook his head, causing all his white mane to shift.

"My _service_." There was a dry bite to the word and he turned away from her ever so slightly. "You must know that it's not something you can just ask for."

Joanie swallowed dryly and nodded.

"I have been told that I should earn the right." She said steadily. "Or beat you at a challenge."

The horse snorted in what Joanie could tell was a laugh.

"I doubt whether you can earn it Silver Feather."  
Joanie sniffed, feeling her temper simmer to the surface.

"A challenge then!" She snapped. "I'm serious!"

The horse snorted and stared at her with his deep blue eyes.

"What type of challenge?"  
Joanie had to blush and looked at the ground, clenching her throbbing hand. "I haven't given it much thought." She muttered.

The horse shook his head.

"You are quick with your words but slow with your thoughts." He said. "Have you thought about that a challenge goes both ways? That to win something you must also give up something? Have you thought about that Silver Feather?"  
Joanie glared at him.

"I'm not a half-wit." She said. "Yes, I have.

The horse picked up his ears.

"And?" He queried. "What will I gain if I offer my services?"

Joanie suppressed a shiver and pulled herself up to her full height.

"Mine." She said shortly. "I am… the…" She closed her eyes. "I am the queen of the Sky Realm now. I have the Skyswirlstone. For real."   
The Lord of the Flightless realm snorted.

"You don't sound very convinced yourself."

Joanie sniffed loudly and in a quick motion that made every muscle in her shoulder hurt, reached into a deep pocket in her clothes and drew out the Skyswirlstone. Without waiting for him to doubt her she thrust her hand into the glove and held the blue stone up so that he could see it.  
The horse regarded it thoughtfully.

"It's a lot to risk." He said sombrely. "You understand Silver feather that, if you loose – you will be mine and your kingdom will be unprotected."

Joanie pulled of the glove and put it away again, away from her own sight.

"I won't loose." She said sharply. "But, to gain something you must risk everything. It's not fair, but it's life."

She wasn't sure but she sensed a touch of amusement.

The horse made a throaty sound, turned around and started walking away.   
Joanie opened her mouth in protest but just blinked after him. Was it over?

The horse did not turn around.

"Follow me Silver Feather."

Joanie blinked but didn't give him the chance to give the order twice. Ignoring her aching body's protest she trotted after him.

Without looking at her, the horse snorted. "Al right Silver Feather – I accept your challenge. Now. What is it? To what do you, the flightless queen of the sky realm, challenge me to?"

Joanie experienced a strange sense of loss and anger at the same time. She refrained from touching her side.

"I don't know." She said honestly. "I honestly haven't thought about it."

The horse blinked. "Well then." He said. "What are you good at?"

The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

"Running."

He picked up his ears forward and his head swung in her direction.

"Are you fast?"

Her side started throbbing but she took a deep breath, her head spinning as she realised what was happening.

"Yes. Very. Are you?"

The horse tossed his head, briefly looking at the sky.

"Not as fast on land as I am…" He trailed off. "But I will accept such a challenge."

Did he not see the blood on her clothes? The way she was holding her wrist?  
Joanie sniffed.

"Then I give it." She said. "Then I challenge you to a race on land. If I win, then I will command you to take me to the Crystal Mountains, where the Heart of the Mountain resides. Or should. If I loose, then you can have me. Then I'll give myself to _your_ service. And… The Skyswirlstone."

There was a long pause then the horse snorted and said softly…

"I accept your challenge." He stopped suddenly and dropped his one wing, exposing his back. "And I will choose the distance and place. Now, get on before I change my mind Silver Feather."

Numb with shock Joanie positioned herself at his neck and tried to get on. It was quite a scramble because she was not practiced, nor was she the world's best rider. She was quite exhausted by the time she finally managed to position herself on his back and hooked her legs before his wings.

The horse snorted and shifted as if he was trying to get use to her weight on his back.

"Hold on tight now." He said and started trotting off, causing her to bounce around and grab his mane. "I doubt whether you would appreciate another fall."

When Joanie tightened her hold on his mane and her grip with her legs he started cantering. The only warning she had that he was going to jump was when she felt him drop his wings. The horse leaped into the air with a mighty hall, spreading his wings as his hooves left the ground and started beating furiously with them to gain altitude. They climbed surprisingly quickly. Joanie felt an old hollow fear twist her stomach as she looked down to the disappearing landscape.

"Oh…" She moaned softly but stopped herself from saying something.  
The horse stretched his neck and neighed, causing his whole to vibrate.

"Scared Silver Feather?"

Joanie didn't answer and rather just closed her eyes, trying hard to focus on keeping the contents of her stomach where they should be. Bile pushed up in her throat.

She felt extremely vulnerable without her flight.

The horse snorted and flew a little faster. The action was smooth, smoother than it would've been if they had been land bound. Joanie took several breaths to relax herself and lessen her grip on his mane a little bit. She was just getting use to it when the horse dived down. She gave a quick, unchecked, petrified shout.

The horse dove down, with his wings tucked in, then – just as they dropped below the clouds spread his wings again and flew upwards, leaving Joanie's stomach behind.  
Joanie felt frozen in terror.

The horse snorted in his laughing manner.

"A sky queen, afraid of heights?" He exclaimed. "The wingdom's standards are dropping. Literally."

Joanie grinded her teeth, her fear momentarily replaced by anger.

"Shut your trap!" She shouted above the wind. "You leave the wingdom out of this! Its standards are higher than you'll ever reach!"

The horse said nothing to this and started to descend again. It was considerably smoother this time. Joanie let out a breath she didn't know that she was holding and closed her eyes.

After some time she felt his body shift ever so slightly.

"Look down Silver Feather." She heard him say solemnly.  
Joanie opened her eyes and swallowing her queasiness, glanced down over his neck.

They were flying over a lush, green field, with a few distributed grey stones and a large oak.

"The race will be held from the tallest standing stone up to the great oak." The horse pointed out. Joanie looked at the course as he circled back. It was about 800 meters, a distance that she would have to run at full speed all the way.

She bit her lip, thinking about her hip. Looking at it again, something caught her attention.  
Joanie frowned and leaned forward.

"Hold up a moment." She said. "What about that crevice, the one running through the field. It's… Huge."

It was about fifteen foot.

The horse snorted.

"What about it?"

Joanie sniffed. "Well… Is it a part of the course?" She queried. "I mean… It's between the stone and the oak. Or do I have the wrong stone or oak?" She looked around, searching for another.

"No." The horse said distantly. "It's a part of the course Silver Feather. You have to jump it."  
Leaning forward, Joanie almost fainted.

"I can't!" She exclaimed. "It's impossible – I can't fly!" She gave the horse's neck a horrified look. The horse looked back at her with smiling eyes, a look that wasn't at all pleasant.

"You can glide." He said and looked at the ground to land. "As will I. It's only fair." Joanie gaped at him all through the descend and jumped off the moment his hooves touched earth.

She spread her arms as if to yell at him.

"I… I…" His eyes stopped her. Breathing deeply, Joanie could see him expecting her to chicken out.

"I have to go warm up." Her words were tight, fear ringing like a bell in her ears.  
The horse nodded nobly and walked away to what she expected was the starting line.

Joanie closed her eyes and struggled to control her emotions. Turning her back on him she walked away a few strides and sat down to start stretching her legs. Up until now she had not had the time to explore the extent of her injuries and she figured that now as a good a time as any.

Her legs were fine. She could feel a few bruises on them and took note of the tiny cuts left by the branches but they weren't a very big concern.  
Her side was. When Joanie moved it too much she could feel it throb, like a tearing pain. She clutched her hand over her side until the pain subsided and studied the blood on her hand with a strange panicked disassociation. There was nothing to be done about that. She stood up and rolled her shoulders. Her left was fine, but her right shoulder's agony echoed her sides. She bit her tongue and took a few deep breaths. She first lifted her left wing to see what it could do in the flightless realm then tried to mimic the movement with her right shoulder.  
She couldn't and realised to her dismay that almost her whole arm was useless. Her wrist was just as sore. With a nauseously sinking feeling Joanie realised that even if she could run as fast as she normally could with her hip, she wouldn't be able to glide over the crevice. She bit her tongue and closed her eyes.

"I can't run." She whispered. "I won't make his challenge, I can't run…"

&&&

To Be Continued…

_AN: So, the next instalment. I've broken one chapter from the old version down into three for this one purely because I don't have the time to write a long one, lol. This would've been longer but yours truly went bungee jumping yesterday and effectively cut her writing time in half. On a totally random track of thought – I feel strongly that everyone should throw themselves off of a bridge at least once in their lifetime, lol. With a cord of course. I don't think I'll do it again soon, but it was fun while it lasted, lol. My Achilles tendon is sore now though – so don't dive straight down, jump as far as you can! And don't kick!! ;)  
Have a good one!  
Alyssa _

_Oh, to _amelie de lorraine – _thank you for reviewing hun! ____ you are running me a bit ahead with your request. ;) Be assured, your wish will be my command. I don't get a lot of requests so it will be my pleasure to comply to yours as soon as I'm done with this fic. ;) Have a good one – Alyss._


	10. The Consequences of Running

**Chapter 10: The Consequences of Running. **

Everything was happening too fast.

Joanie closed her eyes and squeezed her hand against her side, all too aware of the blood caking on it. She tried to control her breathing, but the only reward she got was a slight tremor in her legs that caused her to drop to her knees.

Pain.

It pulsed inside her, crippling her, paralyzing her.

Pain.

"I can't do it." She whispered. "I can't run. I can't run and win. I can't." She bowed forward, touching her head to the cool grass just as a shadow fell over her.

"You don't have to." The voice in her head said softly, with no mock or scorn. "I will take you back as far as the outer wingdom even. You can still turn back and go to your Sky realm Silver Feather."

She was on her feet even before her eyes were open.  
"NO!" She yelled. "No! I can run. I can! I will not go back without running this race! I won't." She glared at him defiantly, anger replacing the pain inside her. "I will run."

She has been running her whole life. Her first memories were of running and hiding away from the older kids at the foster home then later, running away from that foster home and many others. She ran continuously when she was on the street, from social services, the police, gangs and street thugs alike. She had run and run and run until one day, she had run into the woman she was running for now.   
It was as if she had been running towards her, her whole life. It seemed somehow fitting that she now had to run to safe her.

She and the horse did not speak again as she took a deep breath and stretched herself as well as she could one last time. When she was ready, he trotted over to where the starting line was and waited for her. She did the same, taking note of the pain only to know where to block it out. When she settled in next to him, crouching down into an athlete's position she glanced up briefly, meeting his crystal like eyes.

"Call it." She hissed. "You can call it."

He nodded without a word and looked towards the sky almost longingly.

"Get ready." His voice was a whisper on the wind.

Joanie closed her eyes and tensed her body. "If it is to be…" she whispered softly, sweat running down her face…

"Get set."

Joanie looked up, her sweat stinging her eyes.

"Go!"

The word resonated around them as if the whole realm shouted with him. As Joanie leapt up she felt a cold sensation spread from her feather but she paid it no mind.

"It's up to me!"

Joanie ran. Her side stretched and her shoulder throbbed but she ran. Everything around her dimmed and she became only aware of her opponent and the large oak that marked the end of their race. The horse was struggling or rather, she could sense that what he had said was true. He truly wasn't as fast on land as in the air. His large wings which gave him so much grace in the air unbalanced him as he picked up speed.

_Maybe…_ Joanie thought suddenly. _Maybe just maybe, I can win this…_

The chasm was before her, stretching out like a gaping mouth.

She was going to do this, one way or the other. From the moment she had left her room the previous evening she had made a commitment to see this through to the end. _Her shoulder hurt…_ No matter what that end might be. Joanie didn't look at the chasm as she adjusted her stride. Judging the distance she counted her steps, spread her arms and… Jumped.   
The wind and pain alike whipped tears into her as she soured through the air. Joanie kept her eyes focused on the ground as it became nearer, biting her lip against the agony in her shoulder. Her heart raced, even thought it felt as if it was barely beating as she saw the opposite edge coming closer and closer. She turned her body ever so slightly, preparing herself to land. She was going to make it, against all her fears; she was going to make it…

Her feet barely touched the edge. She knew suddenly that she didn't make it, even as she tried to take a step forward. She lost her balance and topped backwards just as she saw the horse clear the jump. She cried out, twisted her body in an instinctive attempt to fly up but she couldn't. She looked down and in a split second realized that a branch was coming her way. She closed her eyes and grabbed it, crying out in pain as her shoulders jerked against the lashing stopping motion.   
The young branch bend but did not break.

Breathing raggedly, Joanie first tried to pull herself up but she couldn't with her shoulder and had to let go with her right hand. Looking down in the gaping darkness she looked up and tried to swing herself up onto the branch but she didn't have the strength to. She tried pushing her feet against the edge and walking up but the soft earth crumbled, sending her toppling back down. Whimpering softly Joanie looked down, again. It dawned on her then that she had lost.  
And failed.

She had failed herself, the Wingdom, her friends and the most agonizing of all…

Dame Skyla.

Blinking tears she closed her eyes, suddenly aware of the weight of the Skyswirlstone in her pocket. _She should never have taken it._ She has brought doom on all the wingdom.

"I'm sorry…" she sobbed softly. "I'm so sorry…" She had taken a foolhardy risk and now everybody who depended on her would pay the consequences.

Her arms started shaking and she was loosing her grip on the branch. She tried to pull herself up one last time but to no avail. She looked up towards the sky, and closed her eyes. A darkly relieved thought told her that if she fell, at least she wouldn't have to deal with the pain of loosing the woman whom she had started to see as her mother.

"Silver Feather!"

An unexpected wind blew up between her legs and when she looked down she could see the white horse hovering below her. "I can't get closer!" He said, his voice intense. "You'll have to push away from the edge and jump." There was no question in his voice that she wouldn't do it.

Breathing quickly Joanie looked up again, then down towards where he was, trying to judge how far she would have to push away. Then, rebelling against her aching body she pulled up her right arm, redoubled her grip on the branch before she pulled her legs up and kicked herself away from the edge. She twisted her body immediately, dropped for a few heart stopping seconds and then landed securely on the horse's back. She immediately tightened her legs on his back and grabbed and handful of mane as he spread his powerful wings flew up out of the chasm. It was only when they were up and flying above the cloud line when the full force of her predicament hit her. She closed her eyes and pressed her face against the horses mane. Emotions that she had been suppressing since she realized that Skyla was gone welled up inside her, and she screamed and screamed until she couldn't anymore.

She had lost, and she had failed. Dame Skyla was dead to her, her friends gone. She, Joanie-Ellen Zavere has lost her freedom to the Lord of the Flightless Realm and through that the rest of her life as well. She sobbed with her body pressed tightly against her new master's, her anguish and physical pain like a dark wave washing over her.

"Let it go Silver Feather." The Horse's voice was soft, like the beating of his wings. "Just let it all go."

She tangled her hand in his mane and for a moment pulled at it as hard as she could, but when it had no effect she sobbed again softly and closed her eyes, letting the dark wave of her feelings wash over her.

She had lost.

&&&

She wasn't sure whether she fell asleep or lost consciousness but time became a strange series of flashes to her.

She somehow knew that they had flown for hours, but it passed quickly to her as she drifted in and out of consciousness, her body still pressed against the horse. They started descending by the time the sun became an orange glow just above the horizon. Joanie had closed her eyes and was jerked awake seemingly seconds later when they landed in a dark forest clearing. The sun had already set by then. She had been conscious enough then to try and get off but the horse had urged her, more with his body language than words, to stay on. She had not protested and had closed her eyes only to be awakened when hands enclosed around her. She had panicked then and had briefly tried to twist out of the gentle grip but her body protested her every move.

"Careful with her." The horse's voice was different than before, gentle and friendly but still commanding. "She's hurt." At his words she remembered that her life did not belong to herself anymore, and that resisting, what ever he wanted to do to her or was planning for her was futile. She closed her eyes when she felt herself gently slipped off of the horse and placed on cool grass. She curled herself up as the hands let go of her.

"You are bleeding my Lord." An unfamiliar man said, his voice strangely pitched with age. "Urla! Urla damn you woman where are you?! Our Lord is hurt!"

A female voice from further away answered.

"Don't you yell at me like that you old bag! Dear goodness, let me get a light."

Joanie heard the horse shake his head. "It's not mine." He said gently, his voice closer to her. She felt his warm breath on her face as he nuzzled her hair and then her shoulder. "It's hers. Mind her shoulder… She's got a cut in her side."

Joanie opened her eyes briefly to see a light coming towards them. An old woman, with a weathered face like a wrinkled apple, bent down and brought a lamp close to her face. Joanie closed her eyes and tried to turn away.

"Dear goodness." The woman said again. "It's a young woman."

"A girl." The horse corrected her. "She's from a race a lot taller than you are. Dear Urla, Ingwar – I must ask you two to see to her. I've done her a bit of an injustice."

Joanie whimpered as the woman carefully turned her on her back but didn't have the strength to protest or speak. The old woman made a soothing sound as she briefly touched her face, wiping away a few stray tears.

"Easy there darling." She said softly. "Let's see what this brute did to you. Do you hurt anywhere else?" Joanie closed her eyes, shuddering when she felt the woman's hands briefly touch her side. She didn't answer her and rather just turned her face away. She heard the woman click her tongue before she drew away a little.

"Let's get her inside Ingwar." She said to the man present. "What happened to her my Lord?" A set of hands wrapped them around her legs while the other slipped themselves under her shoulders. Joanie grunted in pain and bit her lip but didn't say anything.

"Mind her shoulders as well." The horse said as she was lifted up. "I think she hurt her right one. Also, mind her wings."

The movement stopped. "Wings?" The man asked, clearly shocked as the woman snapped. "Don't drop her! Stupid husband…"

"She's from the realm of flight and she has had a rough day." The horse said, mildly amused. "Please, take good care of her. I will tell you all shortly. Just see to her first." The slight commanding tone in his voice got them moving again. Joanie opened her eyes briefly to see herself carried into a brightly lit house. The sudden loss of the horse's unrelenting presence came as a surprise, enough so that she managed to twist her body slightly, almost out of the people's unsuspecting hands. To get a better grip they briefly put her on the floor and, before they could pick her up again Joanie struggled to sit up, pressing herself against the woman who had dropped to her knees to stop her from moving too much.

"It's okay darling." She whispered softly. "It's alright…"   
Joanie didn't hear her and desperately searched around for the horse. She found him standing in the doorway, his white hair glowing golden in the light of the room. His eyes were on her, watching her intently.

Joanie tried to get up but the woman's arms were quite secure. "Ingwar." She said softly. "Get me some fennel juice will you? There should be some in my cupboard. My Lord, do you know if our medicines will hurt her?"

The horse shook his head and tried to step into the house but he was too big for the door.

"Treat her as you would anybody." He said. "I trust that you will do no harm. They are not that different from us. Joanie-Ellen Zavere…"   
Joanie felt her whole body go cold at the mention of her name. She had never given it to him. The horse dropped his head slightly so that she needed look up to him as much.

"Let Urla take care of you." He said. "I'll be here outside, waiting."

Joanie tried to protest but felt a bottle of something pressed against her lips.

"Here." The woman said softly. "Drink this. Just two or so sips will do." Joanie closed her mouth stubbornly, her eyes still on the horse. She didn't dare speak, lest they tried to force the stuff on her but she desperately wished that she could ask… _How do you know my name?_

The horse shook his head and stamped his hoof, suddenly irritated.

"There will be enough time for questions." He said, his tone intense. "Remember our bargain though Silver Feather. Obey them as you have vowed to obey me. Now. Do as Urla tell you."

Joanie opened her mouth to protest but closed it again quickly and dropped her head. With a shaky hand she took the bottle from the old man who was holding it and, after a second's hesitation, took two quick sips. The old man stepped away from her and put the bottle on the counter. The bitter tasting liquid felt like a strong liquor and felt as if it filled her whole head with a drunken sensation. The old woman shook her head at the man as he went to her legs again and gently stroked Joanie's hair.

"Let's give it a moment." She said softly and then turned her attention to the horse. "Was it necessary to be so harsh? What bargain?" Joanie felt her senses dimming, the drunken sensation spreading through her whole body. She felt as if she was drifting away, slowly but surely and in a desperate attempt to keep some control she focused on the most real thing to her in the room.

The horse sighed and glancing behind him slowly sank down at the door. His eyes were still on her, watching her for any signs of deviance.

"With her yes." He said softly. "But I am not unkind Urla. She does not understand yet. And, there will be a time for questions. But not now. Please, take good care of her."

Joanie felt the woman nod as her last grip on consciousness slipped. Closing her eyes, she finally gave in and slipped back into the induced sleep.

It was somehow better than facing the consequences of the rest of her life.

&&&

To Be Continued…

_AN: Firstly, this chapter is dedicated to Ingrid, without whom it would not have been finished now, lol. So, all of you say: thank you Ingrid. :P I had a brief gap in my busy schedule and I had known that I should take the time to write this but instead I had found myself trapped on a couch (with two kittens who had crawled into my shirt and a dog next to me…) unable to move (evil animals). My friend had phoned me, forcing me to get up and actually think again._

_For the original readers, this section has been changed quite drastically from the previous one. I had had a problem with this original chapter since I wrote it a few years ago (it was called: little people – chapter 9 of the original story). This is my attempt to better it._   
_Have a great day and I hope that you are all well!!_  
_Totally random – if there are any anime fans around, I've discovered a new great series – Read or Die. The OVA series is available at Youtube and the Manga (comes before the OVA) and second series are available for download from __ I'd highly recommend it._  
_Hugz!_

Alyss.


	11. Interlude

**Chapter 11: Interlude. **

She was content.  
Sitting in his arms, feeling his warm breath in her neck, his chest moving against her back. She was so content.

Skyla closed her eyes and pushed herself back against her husband, causing him to tighten his hold on her. Before them, the universe stretched out like stars in a dark night, drifting like flowers in a field of wind. Time did not exist in this world, did not matter, all that mattered was that she was content. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She was content.

But…   
Behind her, Skyler shifted again, moving her so that she could lie back against his chest and he could look over her, into her eyes.

"My dear wife." He said softly, his voice deep with affection. "I love you, so much."

She smiled at him, not quite comprehending why but feeling that it was quite a luxury.

"And I you my dear beloved. I love you so much more. You are… You are my everything."

He chuckled at her and leaned over awkwardly, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Not entirely." He said and ran his one hand through her hair. "You are distracted."

She laughed at him, softly, her hand searching for his. "You are distracting me." She said. "What is on your mind husband? You seem troubled." She felt him smile, felt it vibrate through her whole body, but – the smile was sad. So sad.

"You don't belong here."

She blinked and sat up.

"My darling?"

He smiled at her, amused but in a sad way. Leaning over, he kissed her on the lips, gently – passionately.

"This is not real Skyla, please – don't get caught in this dream."

She frowned and pulled away from him.

"What dream Skyler?" She queried surprised. "I… I don't understand." She moved so that she could sit across from him, so that he could be faced with the full intensity of her confusion. He was still smiling at her when he reached out and touched her cheek.

"Where are you Skyla?" He queried. "Look around and tell me where you are."

She frowned and first pulled away from his touch before she looked around, trying to see what he obviously desperately wanted her to see. The landscape was broken, distorted. She closed her eyes suddenly, tears appearing in them from discomfort.

"I… I am with you Skyler." She said slowly, insistently. "This… I don't know. But I am with you. I missed you so much." _Where did that come from?_ She wondered suddenly, feeling an intense pain in her chest, or rather – more the memory of pain. A memory of loss.

Skyler's eyes spoke volumes as he looked at her, the waves of emotions rushing through him like a turbulent sea. His hand remained on her cheek, but he did not lean over as his body wanted, as his eyes suggested.

"And I you my dear Skyla." He said. "My dear, beloved Queen. I love you and I want you to remember that, always. But – it is important now, it is important that you remember how you came here. Please my love; I do not want you to remain here. What do you think is missing here? Please – think. I can not help you."

She was getting a little bit distressed now.

"Skyler what is this all about?" She queried sharply. "What's going on? Why can't you tell me what's going on?"

Skyler shook his head insistently. "Because I need _you_ to remember." He said. "I need you to focus, to think for yourself. Please Skyla. One's own thoughts can play tricks on oneself here. And, because of that I need you to remember, to master your own thoughts. It will help you survive. Now, please – tell me what is missing!"

She was scared she realised suddenly – scared of him, scared of what he was suggesting and scared… Scared of this place. She looked around, trying to piece together her slow and scattered thoughts. She looked to her hands, frowned – then glanced at his.

"Your Skyswirl…" She hesitated. "No. My, my Skyswirlstone Skyler. My glove is gone. It's…" She went cold, remembering. "You died." She breathed. "You died… You were killed…" She blinked, tears streaming down her face and a pain, a pain she couldn't believe she forgot erupted inside her. "No… Skyler…"

He watched her, his eyes sad, his hands in his lap. He did not reach out to her, did not comfort her.

"I'm so sorry Skyla." He said, his voice deep and filled with an echo of her pain. "I am really, really sorry."

She did not dare take her eyes from his, did not dare move, not even to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. "What is going on here Skyler?" She demanded. "Tell me! Am I dead? Is this heaven? Hell?"

He shook his head, but still didn't reach out to touch her.

"You are not dead." He said. "Nor will you ever be if you stay here Skyla. This is… A world between worlds. We are not among the living, yet we are not dead. You were…"

"Cursed." Skyla was starting to remember, slowly but certainly. "It was… Our… No." She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying hard to focus despite the apathy threatening to hold onto her mind. "It was my anniversary. Because I'm queen." There was something else… "A stone…" Her heart ached. "My sky… Skyler?"

Her husband nodded sadly.

"The Heart of the Mountain." He said solemnly. "It's a curse from the Flightless Realm. Skyclone send it to you, hoping that he will trap you here. He succeeded."

She sat in silence for an unfathomable time, her hands clenched in her lap.

"I…" She finally managed, unable to think through the consequences of this fate. "I'm sorry Skyler. The wingdom…" Her memories were beginning to be clearer. "My sky dancers. They can't go home… I'm so sorry." Her heart was aching in a different way now, different from the pain she remembered feeling when her husband died.

Skyler sighed and shook his head. "It's not your fault my dear wife." He said softly and reached over to take her hands. "This is my fault as well. You should never have had the responsibility."  
She did not lean over to him, nor did she look at him.

"It's been my responsibility for five years." She said, her voice almost cold. "And, it's been bearable of late. I have…" Her eyes went wide and she looked at her husband, horrified. He frowned at her, reached up and cupped her face in his hands.

"What is it my darling?" He asked worried. "What's wrong?"

She tried to tell him but found that she could not look into his eyes. She dropped her gaze to her hands.

"I have a daughter Skyler." She said softly. "She… I'm sorry." When she looked into his eyes she could see that it was no surprise to him.

"I know." He said softly and pulled her closer to him so that he could plant a kiss on her forehead. "And I have no objections Skyla. None… I never caught her name."

With his kiss, Skyla melted into his touch, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling herself as close to him as possible. She now knew what was missing, why she had not been happy in the beginning. Her adopted daughter was all alone…

"Joanie." She whispered softly, blinking tears. "Joanie-Ellen. My dear Joanie…"

&&&

"Ellen."   
Joanie awoke with a start, her head spinning, her throat sore. She tried to sit up, but was pushed down by firm, but comforting hands. A cool wet cloth found her forehead in the dark and gently sponged off her face and neck. She tried to see who it was, but the room was too dark and all she could make out was a silhouette bending over her. She breathed deeply, quickly – all too aware of the painful stretch over her chest and the throb in her side.

"Dame Skyla?" She queried hoarsely, trying to place the voice that she had heard.

"It's alright child," a completely different voice said softly, and unfamiliar voice. "You're alright. It was just a dream."

Joanie swallowed and closed her eyes again, biting her lip against the desperate sob building in her throat and moving her face away from the wet cloth.

It wasn't just a dream. It was a hard, terrible fact.  
Dame Skyla was dead to her, and there was nothing that she could do to fix it.

Nothing.

&&&

To Be Continued…

_AN: This was really just meant to be a small interlude so there's not a lot happening in this chapter. About the Yes, yes yes! I stole it from Pirates 1. I couldn't help myself. Busted, I know. LOL. Forgive me, I don't generally steal lines. (just the odd squiggle). I hope you all have a great weekend and will take care of yourself!   
Have a hug!_

Alyss 

_-;-- _


	12. The Natural Order

**Chapter 12: The Natural Order. **

She woke up to an earthy smell and comfortable sheets. It was strange, but in the months that she has been taken off the streets it was a luxury that she never quite got use to. And one she always took note off.

Joanie-Ellen lay very still for a few moments, breathing deeply until she became aware of the fact that it actually hurt. That made her shift slightly, an action that immediately made her aware of the rest of her body. Everything hurt and she remembered why. It was strange, like a memory in a dream. It was as if it was engraved in her soul, she could see the memory when she closed her eyes. Feel it when she moved.

She knew…

She thought that she would start crying again but somehow, the tears stayed away. Instead, she sighed and tried to rub at her face but realized that her one hand was tide down. Joanie's eyes flew open, though she didn't move immediately. Looking around she first assessed her condition and the situation. She felt a bit foolish when she realized that her hand wasn't tied down, just strapped to her chest and in a firm splint. When she pulled down the blanket she saw that her hip was also bandaged and there were some bandages around her neck and shoulder area as well. With her free hand she probed the bandage around her shoulder. It was slightly warm and upon closer inspection she realized that there was a sharp smelling poultice underneath it. She grimaced, noticing that she was quite scantily dressed. Joanie quickly pulled the covers back up to her shoulder, ignoring her stiff body and studied her bed. She felt as if she had been stuffed in a closet, though she knew that it was properly not true. The bed was build into the wall, with a curtain in front of it for privacy. Joanie traced the bark like side with her hand then turned to the curtain. Her fate and her new life lay beyond it.

Guilt ate at her.  
_She should never have taken the Skyswirlstone._  
Reaching over, she carefully drew the curtain aside, letting in what she judged to be early morning light. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that she was not alone. An old woman who she remembered only vaguely from when the horse brought her here was busy with something on the table just opposite her bed. When she heard the curtain open she turned around surprised but immediately gave Joanie a warm smile.

"Well good morning love," she said gently and stepped forward. "I didn't expect to see you awake."

Joanie's reaction was instinctive. She moved back, despite the pain in her hip and shoulder and watched the woman cautiously, having the sense not to glare at her lest the Horse was around. The woman smiled despite her mistrust and pulled a chair closer.

"There's no need for that," she said and opened the curtain completely. "How are you feeling?" She waited for an answer until she realized that it was futile. Still, undeterred she just smiled and leaned forward. "Let me look at this shoulder, just relax – I won't hurt you."

Joanie shifted back, but didn't protest and rather just closed her eyes as the woman inspected all her bandages.

"I'm not sure how good a job I did," the woman carried on conversationally as she looked at her wounds. "Especially with your shoulder. I think you've torn quite a few muscles love. I'm unfortunately not an expert on wings. I don't know when you'll be able to fly again. You're wrist is broken. I splinted it for you. Your hip's not that bad. It will bother you for a bit I think. Especially when you travel. But it will heal. My name is Urla by the way."

When Joanie still didn't respond the woman smiled slightly and ran a gentle hand through her hair. "You are Joanie-Ellen Zavere," her tone changed ever so slightly, respect weighing it down, "the Sky Queen."

Joanie's eyes snapped open and she glared at the woman, her words instantly sending a burning rage coursing through her veins

"I'm not the queen!" she snapped. "I'm not! I was never meant to be!"

The old woman blinked at sat back, surprised by her outburst. Joanie realized quite suddenly that she had pushed herself up. Her shoulder throbbed but she ignored it. Glaring at the woman again to make sure her point got across she carefully lowered herself and glared at the wall. Unconsciously she touched her chest, trying to sooth the ache she felt there.

The woman shifted slightly once again touched her forehead.

"So angry," she whispered. "My dear, you are too young to be so angry. Take it from someone who's lived a full life."  
Joanie bit her lip and tried hard to swallow the lump once again forming in her throat. "There's no life left for me to live," she whispered bitterly.

The woman didn't reply.

"I'm going to change your bandages," she said, standing up. "Then, we'll get you dressed and get some breakfast in you. I suspect after that the Lord Protector would like to talk to you."

Joanie turned her head to protest but found herself looking straight into the woman's compassionate eyes as she stood over her. She was quite short. As if seeing her fears and objections the old woman, with a face wrinkled with age, smiled at her and made a comforting gesture with her hand.

"It will be alright," she said. "Don't fear. It will be alright."

&&&

"No! It's not alright!"

Slam was furious.

Pacing up and down the private dining hall Slam had everybody's attention as he and Jade faced each other. It was a terrible sight, to see the two people who cared so deeply for each other in a face off. Camille was standing wordlessly to one side, her one hand half raised to stop them but the words frozen in her mouth. Angelica had her eyes closed, her hands pressed over her ears as if to fend of their angry words and Breeze sat with her, his arms wrapped around her but his attention on his friends. He too didn't say anything to stop them.

Jade stood back, shaken by Slam's anger. It had never been directed at her before. She knew that Slam was an angry young man. She saw it many times, when he danced, when he fought, even sometimes when he laughed. It had made her respect him. He kept it down, hidden. In control. She knew that it took a lot to keep anger in and she had always thought that he was the master of his own mind. Now, though, she realized that she had just never seen him angry enough.  
Jade licked her lips, taking an unconscious step back but firmly standing her ground.

"If the Tinker said that it will be alright Slam then it will be alright," she snapped. "Trust him! And damn it, trust Joanie."

Slam rounded on her, his fists balled.

"He never said that she'll be okay," he said. "He merely said that she's our last hope. He didn't say that she'll return unharmed. He didn't even say if she will return at all."

Jade sniffed. "But he did say that we must not follow her," she snapped. "We can't just go charging off in one direction Slam! We don't know where Joanie is! We have no maps, no idea of where she went or what she went after!"

Slam slammed his fist down on the table. Jade was very surprised that the mahogany table didn't break under the force of his punch.

"But we're not looking are we? We're not doing anything!"

Jade squared her shoulders and tried very hard not to raise her. "Because he told us not to," she hissed. "And we're doing a lot Slam! We're keeping the people calm, keeping and eye on the council. Helping Lady Faolin. Because if you think about it logically there is nothing that we can do but keep the peace here! Have you ever bothered to look at the maps showing the border of the Flightless Realm? Joanie could be anywhere within a hundred mile radius!"

Slam brought his hand up to stab it in the air.

"But I'm sure the Tinker knows where we should look!" he snapped. "Damn you Jade, we can't just let Joanie go! We can't! It's been three days. Three! We haven't heard anything from her. She is out there, on her own. She is emotional, she is reckless and I'm terrified that she's where I would be if I was her! That she feels that she has nothing left to loose! I will not loose her to! I failed Skyla, I can't fail…"

Even though none of the others were talking his words shot through them like hot scalpels. His silent horror was an echo of theirs.

Jade's face contorted with pain but instead of stepping back she stepped closer to Slam. "Slam," she said softly, "Slam, you won't fail her. Oh…" If she had been his girlfriend, she would've been justified to an endearing name for him. As it was, she was at a loss for words.  
Slam dropped his head, his anger disappearing as quickly as it came. She knew immediately that he was once again very close to tears. She had never thought that Slam could cry, but in these past few days they had seen a lot in each other that they never thought existed. Turning his back on her and everybody else, Slam slowly stepped out towards the window. Angelica had started crying again, softly into the safety of Breeze's shoulder. He was watching his friend, his eyes quiet and withdrawn. When Slam stepped out of the window and flew off, Camille collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her face but lacking the strength to cry. Jade balled her fists determined though and ran after Slam. He jumped out of the window before Jade reached him but she followed him determinedly. She caught up with him quickly when they were in the air and took his hand forcefully. He tried to move away from her but using the momentum of the air Jade pulled him closer to her and hugged him.

"You didn't fail either Slam," she said, "you tried your best."

Her friend was stiff in her arms and she felt awkward holding him like this. It was more intimate than when they normally touched each other.

"She's all alone there Jade," his voice was tight. "You know how stupid Joanie can be. And she's… She's younger than we are. She can't control her powers yet and she is so, _so_ unreasonable."

Jade shook her head against his chest and held him tighter.

"Joanie has been doing things on her own for longer than we've known each other," she said heavily. "Slam, I feel that we have to have faith. If she is to be our queen one day… Then we must learn to trust her now."

Slowly, Slam wrapped his arms around Jade and buried his face in her hair.

"I should've watched her Jade," he whispered softly. "And, I should never have opened that package…"

&&&

Joanie was sitting at a low table when she heard the distinct sounds of hooves outside. She didn't look up immediately, but swept her spoon around in one of the many patterns she had been forming in the porridge before her. She had taken two bites, swallowed one and was still sitting with the other in her mouth. Her throat, sore, refused to work. Urla the dwarf woman, had redone all her bandages, had cleaned all her open wounds and had first put her right arm in a sling before she strapped it tightly to her chest. She had then helped her get into an oversized shirt that she said belonged to her husband. She had worked thoroughly and diligently, only allowing herself to be momentarily distracted by Joanie's wings.

"We've never had one of the sky folk here," she had said, "it's such an honour. Know that you are most welcome here. Most welcome."

_I am a prisoner,_ Joanie had thought but said nothing.

Now, the old woman gently touched Joanie's good shoulder and, when Joanie looked up at her, motioned to the door. The silver horse was standing there looking at her in a way that was most insistent.   
Joanie's stomach contracted and she once again tried to swallow the porridge still in her mouth. It took and effort to get it past her constricted throat but she choked it down and stood up. With her back straight in defiance she walked to the door and stepped outside when the Horse moved away from it to the patch of lawn in front of the dwarves' cottage. She followed him, but glanced back briefly – amazed to see that the cottage was partly built into a big tree. She felt a touch of wonder before she took a deep breath and faced the Horse. His clear blue eyes were focussed on her in that same, weighing expectant way that he had looked at her the first time she saw him. She balled her fist, aware that the two dwarves were standing at the door. Closing her eyes she carefully went down on one knee and bowed her head, using her left hand to steady herself. She dared look up, lest he saw the sudden rage burning inside her.

_I should never have taken the Skyswirlstone._

Like before, moments passed before he responded to her. Joanie's side began to throb but she ignored it, unconsciously though she dug her fingers into the soil and grinded her teeth. She sensed, more than saw Urla move.

"My Lord…" she began. "Her side…"  
The Horse flapped his wings, silencing her before stepping closer. Joanie closed her eyes when she felt him blow his warm breath into her hair.

"Rise Silver Feather," he said gravely and stepped back. "Rise, and look at me."

Biting her lip Joanie got up slowly and tried very hard to put on an expression of meekness but she knew she failed horribly when the Horse flattened his ears.

"Are you going to throw me with that again?" he queried softly, his eyes on her left hand. Joanie glanced down and realized that she had brought a handful of dirt with her. Blushing, she quickly let it go and shook her head. She kept her gaze firmly fixed on the ground.

"Look at me Joanie-Ellen," the Horse said sharply. "Do as I commanded."

Again, that almost uncontrollable rage built up in Joanie but she fought it down with a deep breath and looked up, meeting the Horse's blue gaze. They stared at each other for a long time until he tossed his head.

"I know about you Joanie-Ellen," he said clearly, "I know what brought you here to the Flightless Realm."  
Joanie bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything but she felt her one fist tighten again. The Horse continued, appearing not to notice. "Queen Skyla Zavere has been placed under the Mountain's curse. Your mother."

Those words hurt.

"I'm not her real daughter," Joanie wasn't sure why she sounded as defensive as she did. "I am not the next in line for the thrown."

There was laughter in the Horse's eyes. "That Skyswirlstone you hold says otherwise Silver Feather," he said. "And yes, I know you are not her real daughter. You are not even from this realm."

Joanie didn't say anything, her throat tight with emotion as she regarded him. He looked at her for a bit then, she almost got the impression that he was smiling.

"Tell me Silver Feather, do you think you deserve the Skyswirlstone? As Skyla's adopted daughter of course. And… One of her protectors."

Joanie bit down on her hard on her tongue, struggling to control herself.

"No," she managed, "I… no."  
The Horse's eyes grew sharper.

"The same way you felt I didn't deserve to be bowed to?"

Joanie stiffened and didn't reply.

The Horse snorted, tossing his head again.

"There is a natural order in all worlds Silver Feather," he said. "And it is something I want you to understand before you leave here. If things happened to people because they deserved it, or did not deserve it, then you would've been born to your own family, curses would not have existed and the woman you are here for would not have gone to bed every night for the past five years, alone. Kings would've had to bow to beggars and then, dear Silver Feather, the world would be all over the place."

Joanie, taken aback by the direction of the conversation shook her head slightly. "What… I don't understand what you mean."

The Horse snorted - a sound very close to a laugh.

"You bowed to me because you had to, Silver Feather," he said. "Just as people will one day bow to you. As Queen, there will be a lot of people under you, more deserving of praise, more deserving of respect than you. But, you will be the sovereign and they will look to you for guidance. If they did not bow to you, if they did not need to do that, your authority as protector of your people will be challenged, even abolished."

Joanie sniffed awkwardly and rubbed her arm.

"I will never be queen," she said monotonously. "Never."

The Horse laughed then, a sound she didn't know how he produced but a sound which travelled all around her and, despite her anger, she felt herself wanting to smile.

"You are a slow learner and a poor listener Joanie-Ellen," he said amused. "What have I been telling you?"

She sniffed, irritated.

"That there's an order," she said, "and that I should've bowed to you not because you deserved it but because you are the protector of this realm. And, I understand that. I was…" She looked away, beyond him. "Wrong to act the way I did. I'm sorry."

The Horse's eye smiled.

"But you can bend," he said softly before his voice became sharper. "What do you think will happen to your kingdom now Silver Feather? Queen Skyla is gone, you have taken the Skyswirlstone. What do you think will happen now? Think in terms of what I told you."

Joanie felt a moment's panic, the question so like the ones she received in school work. Instead of answering, or even trying to think about it she just shook her head and studied the ground at her feet.

The Horse sighed deeply and stepped closer to her, nuzzling her hair. She flinched away from his touch, confused by his sudden change in demeanour.

"The natural order," he said softly, "the order that I, and you and your _mother_ need to uphold, will be disturbed. That is why, Joanie-Ellen, you will be queen. And I can not keep you here."

She didn't comprehend what he said immediately, but stared at him with a stupid expression on her face.

"You…" she hesitated. "You're taking me back?" She felt a glimmer of hope rise inside her.

The Horse shook his head and glanced beyond her towards the dwarves who were still watching them. Joanie felt the hope die back and she dropped her head again. The Horse suddenly stretched his neck forward and pulled her closer with his head so that she was forced to stand against him.

"First," he whispered in her ear, "I'm going to take you to the Crystal Mountains…"

&&&

To Be Continued…

_AN: For those of you who read my Phantom story, this is old news. But, for the rest I can now say with the greatest relief that I have finished my studies and that I am now not a student anymore, but technically unemployed, lol. Against all the odds and some deep personal doubt I survived the year and now have two full months that I can devote almost solely to my writing. So, be prepared to have more chapters more often. _

_Not much else that I can say other than express my thanks for those of you who continue reading this! Thank you for the reviews and the fact that I see that this story now appears on the favourite list of quite a few people. Thank you, it really means a lot to me.  
I hope that you read from me again soon! I'm working on three fics at the moment and am trying to rotate the chapters. But, it shouldn't take more than a week for me to get round to this one again. I want to finish it so that I can work with another Sky Dancers fic that I've been playing around in my head with, lol. Anyway. Total mindless rambling.  
Thank you for reading this chapter and coming back.  
_

_Yours truly,_

_  
Alyss. _


	13. High Hope

**Chapter 13: High Hope. **

Skyla was pacing up and down, now – knowing that this world was a fake, an illusion, scenes shifted and shaped around her. Yet, amidst it all her husband stood true, watching her. She found it ironic that he was the most corporal being here.  
Frowning suddenly, she turned around and looked at him.

"Are you in this world?" she queried. "Did the death spin put you under the same curse?"

Skyler sighed and shook his head. "No," he said, "my predicament is quite different. This… is not the place where I normally reside. But it is easier for me to reach this place than our reality."

Skyla's frown deepened. "But, do you know how to break this curse?"

He shook his head again causing her to grown frustrated.

"Then you are of no use to me!"

The moment she said it she could see the brief flash of hurt in his eyes. She cringed within herself and sighed. Walking over to him she slipped her hand into his and gave it a soft squeeze, amazed at how real it felt. There in lied the trap though, it was so easy to get use to this feeling, to loose herself in it. If she lost focus she would find herself in his arms again, her memory and grip on reality dim.

"I'm sorry Skyler," she whispered. "Please, I didn't mean it against you. I'm just…"

"Desperate," he finished for her. "I understand Skyla, you want to return to your daughter."

She frowned slightly, unable to determine what emotion lay hidden behind his words. Regret, bitterness, jealousy or maybe hope and envy, approval… she didn't know.

"It's more than that," she said as she rubbed her brow. "Skyler, the wingdom is unprotected. Skyclone has succeeded in his plan! Who knows what's going on there? I need to return as quickly as possible so that I can protect our people. And yes, yes I need to return to Joanie-Ellen and my other Sky Dancers. They cannot return home without me. And Joanie…" She sighed, feeling a quiet pain in her heart. "I'm all she has Skyler. That is what I am trying to focus on because if I focus on you…" Her throat constricted with sudden tears. "If I focus on you then my predicament does not see as dire."

His smile to her was gentle and full of understanding. She didn't think it possible but that hurt even more.

"I love you," she said without thought, the words flowing out of her mouth. "Skyler, I love you more than life itself. I always have and I always will. Joanie… If you can come back to our world Joanie won't change that. Don't ever think that it will."

He laughed, and suddenly she was in his arms, surrounded by his presence.

"I should hope not," he said and kissed her on the cheek. "Oh my Queen, how I have missed you…"

The world changes slightly and once again they were standing amongst the stars that stretched around them like the fruit of worlds. She tried to remain focused, tried to think beyond his arms around her but the lure of his presence was too much. Sighing content Skyla leaned against him, her worries slipping away…

&&&

She was slipping, her whole world was slipping.  
Joanie found herself clinging to the Horse in the strange hug that he had given her, staring at his rump through a haze of tears, her heart feeling as if it had been ripped out of her chest.

"You're taking me?" she queried, her voice barely a whisper as she soughed to remain upright by tangling her left hand in his mane. "You're taking me?"

He did not move his head from her back, did not give her an inch in which to collapse or pull away from him. "Yes," his voice was a rumble in his chest. "Yes dear little Silver Feather. I am taking you to the Crystal Mountains."  
The thought was too much for her, this twist of fate too hard to comprehend. Joanie tried to cling to him with her left arm but found that her grip had slipped as she sank slowly down to his feet, white mane tangled in her fingers.

"Why?" she queried hoarsely. "You… Why?"

He chuckled in his strange animal like way and dropped his head to nuzzle her wings. It made her uncomfortable, but she lacked the strength and capacity to move away from him. Even her own phrase which used to come so easily got stuck in her throat.  
_Don't touch me._

"Because of the natural order," the Horse said softly. "Silver Feather, I cannot take you from your kingdom. I cannot take the Skyswirlstone and I most certainly cannot… _use_ you. Not in the way that you thought that I would."

Joanie, still numb and unable to grasp what he was telling her, closed her eyes.

"Why?" It was the only word that she could get out.

The Horse's sigh seemed to enfold the world.

"I cannot use the Skyswirlstone," he said, "anymore than you can fly in my realm. And, if I keep you here Joanie, the realm of flight will be in dire peril."

Joanie swallowed and closed her eyes as the guilt over taking the Skyswirlstone engulfed her once again. "But…" she hesitated; her voice was dry with emotion. "Why take me to Dame Skyla? Why help me save my mother?"

The Horse chuckled and stepped away from her, giving her the space to stand up and look at him. Joanie did neither and choose to keep her gaze fixed on the ground in front of her.  
_There was still a chance…_

She tried hard not to feel as if Dame Skyla had just returned from the dead.

The Horse chuckled again, but there was intensity to his words. "Because you are still mine," he said, "as was our agreement. You said yourself that I can do with you as I please. Well, for now it would please me to reunite you with your mother. And, in answer to that infernal why question of yours, you deserve it. You were willing to give your life for the woman Joanie-Ellen. It's only fair that you should get hers in return."

&&&

Jade stayed with Slam for as long as she dared.

She had taken him to the roof top where she had found Joanie just after she had changed the Skyswirlstone. Because of its height it offered a wonderful view of the wingdom and she had found herself thinking quietly that it would make a great place to watch the sunrise or sunset from. She and Slam had sat there in silence until she sensed his anger and pain dissipating to the recesses where they all kept theirs. When that moment came though she knew instinctively that it was time to go. She gradually became intimately more aware of Slam's hand in hers, his smell around her, even the way his red hair would move in the wind. Because of the strong wind he had put his other arm around her and now, with his pain controlled, that touch was more than just to secure her on the roof.

Jade closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment for as long as her heart could endure before she stood up abruptly and looked at him. He still held her hand and looked up at her, his eyes questioning hers. She looked away, but could not remove her hand from his just yet.

"It's… complicated to feel so much hurt," she said abruptly, the words leaving her mouth before they made sense. "Slam we…"

He understood, she knew it and that made it hurt even more. Bringing her hand to his lips he kissed it lightly before letting her go.

"I'll sit here a bit," he said, "you go. I have a lot to think about."   
She nodded wordlessly, her mouth dry and her hand burning where he had brushed his kiss.  
_I do love you,_ she wanted to say but couldn't. Rather, she flew off and didn't stop until she was sure he couldn't see her anymore.

It was too complicated, she told herself. There were bigger things to consider at the moment. And grief made people do stupid things. The last thing she wanted was for Slam and her to have a lapse of grief driven _contact_. They had to take care of Joanie when she came back, being the two in the group with whom the young girl got on the best and, until she returned, they would have to help the council hold the peace in the grief stricken wingdom. The normal people took a lot of comfort from the Sky Dancers' presence. They were the wingdom's protectors and if they were around it meant that there was at least one more barrier between them and Skyclone's next attack. With Skyla and Skyswirlstone gone it was one very precious barrier.

Jade felt her throat constrict abruptly and had to stop to pull herself together and rub at the unwelcome tears in her eyes. Bitterly she realized that she had broken a childhood promise, that she would never cry again if someone left her.  
It was ironic that Skyla was the second person to do so. She loved the woman a lot more than she did her own mother and she didn't even feel guilty about it.  
To think that she was gone…  
Jade closed her eyes, realizing that she had drifted to the ground in her grief. She didn't want to think of what would happen if Joanie failed, but she could not make herself hope that she wouldn't. Hope was like a child sitting on the stairs every day praying that her mother would come back. Futile, unheard, unanswered. Hope was illogical, immeasurable and therefore unreal.

She looked around her as her feet touched the ground and noticed all the people staring at her. Children who usually played in the streets sat by their homes their eyes solemn, people who normally went cheerfully about their daily routine remained close to where they can reach safety. The wingdom's people were as one in heart and soul. She had always been amazed at how content and happy they could be together, but now she learned that they could also grieve together as one.  
Her eyes were misting up again as the people around looked at her expectantly. She didn't know what to say to them.  
_I'm sorry for failing, for not being strong. I'm sorry for your loss but it's mine also. I'm sorry I could not stop Joanie… I'm so sorry… _

"I'm sorry."  
The words came not from her mouth, but from the mouth of a young boy who had moved in front of her. He looked at her, his eyes full of the seriousness of youth, the look a strange contrast to his light wingdom eyes and hair. He, like everybody she had seen today wore a white arm band.   
When she didn't reply he frowned weakly and seemed to reason within himself. Deciding that words were not enough he leaned forward and gave her a hug around the middle.

"I'm sorry," he repeated again, slowly, squeezing her as tightly as he could. "But, it will be alright. Don't look so scared, we'll protect you too. My mum said. We'll take care of you till our queen returns."

Jade looked at the child and slowly rested her hands on his head, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks.  
Hope.

Hope was not like a child waiting, she thought suddenly, hope was a child believing.

Dropping to her one knee she hugged the unnamed wingdom child.  
_If Skyla came back,_ she decided, _she was going to give Slam some hope in return. She didn't know how but she knew that she needed to give him more than she could offer him now._

&&&

"My lord, she is a child! You cannot take her on such a perilous journey. You cannot."

Joanie froze on her way to her bed and turned around to see that the dwarf woman had walked outside to face the Horse. Her old face was pushed into stern determination even if her shoulders protested at standing up to the being that ruled over her. Her husband stood between her and the door, shocked at the insolence that he saw.  
The Horse, still standing as he did when he had told her to go in and get her stuff, looked at his subject placidly and flicked his tail.  
"I have found her to be a little more than that Urla," he said, his voice amused. "And it is no less perilous than the dangers that she has faced as a Sky Dancer. I can assure you, the wingdom is quite a dangerous place."

Urla glared at him and shook her finger.

"I cannot hold the Realm of Flight in account for it's lapse in judgement for using a child to fight," she said acidly. "But I can hold it against you. She is injured my lord. Terribly so. The journey will certainly harm her. And the Crystal Mountains… My lord. Please."

Unbidden, Joanie walked back to the door to watch the exchange, fear rising up in her that the Horse might be swayed by the woman's plea. He was shaking his head casually, almost as if tossing away flies.

"Urla," he said gently, "she needs to go there. For her to remain here would do more harm than going." His voice dropped. "Can you not comprehend her hurt?"

The old woman sniffed and shook her head.

"Oh, I can," she said in disbelief, "I understand that hurt. That loss. But, I also understand her other inflictions. You wish to return her to the realm of flight, yet her shoulder is so badly hurt I don't think she'll ever taste the sky again. If you take her now, without giving her injuries time to heal, you doom her to the ground. Her side, that deep wound you took responsibility for, that will cripple her within a day. And you know what waits at the mountains! You cannot take her now."  
The Horse's voice was very passive. "I will take her, and that is the end of it."

Joanie knew that tone of voice, knew that sentence.

&&&

It was the tone of voice Dame Skyla had used in the ruling when they had to decide whether Joanie could stay with her or not. Joanie had known that her record was not perfect, had known what counted against her in the face of being given such a wonderful home as the High Hope Dance Academy. There were children more deserving, some of the people in social services argued, the loudest voices among those of her previous social workers, people who believed that they had tried their best to give her a better home. She knew and understood now how bitter they had felt every time she ran away. Through her blatant refusal to admit that they might be acting in her best will, they had come to dislike her, see her as less than some of the other children who were so grateful for their work.  
A job they were underpaid and overworked to do.

The day had been tough on them. Seated around a table with Dame Skyla on her left and Dr. Maggie Thompson on her right, the woman who assumed the position of her current social worker they had had to face a whole day of near interrogation by the other members of social services seated around the table. Every subject had been brought onto the table, from her own history to Dame Skyla's, from the woman's financial history, her work history and Joanie's scant education. The girl had not thought that the hearing would affect her so but it did. To have her life almost thrown into her face was… hard. She felt stupid, unruly and ungrateful.  
_I will change,_ she had found herself promising. _If they let her adopt me, I'll change. I never want to feel like this again._

When the main decision makers had left for a private conference Joanie had sat there, head bowed and glaring into her lap. She had felt unbelievable angry but only because the anger kept her from feeling all the hurt bottled up inside her. When Dame Skyla reached out to touch her hand she had jerked away from her and growled under her breath.

"Don't touch me."  
The social workers who had remained with them had given each other a knowing look at her harsh words but Dame Skyla had ignored them. Instead of being angry or rejected by Joanie's words she had given the girl a look of immense compassion. Joanie didn't think it was possible but it had made her feel even worse. Instead of touching her again, Dame Skyla had calmly rested her hand on the top of Joanie's chair.  
They had waited like that for almost an hour.  
When the people returned they refused to look at Joanie, something both she and Dame Skyla noticed. As if pulled by the same force they both rose to their feet. Joanie had felt the silent horror welling up inside her but before she could say anything one of the people looked at Dr. Thompson and asked her to please take her from the room.  
Joanie had refused, but one look from Dame Skyla made her reconsider. There was determinedness there, the same determinedness she had seen when Queen Skyla was willing to give up her Skyswirlstone in order to save Joanie from Skyclone.

She had left with Dr. Thompson, but could not remain in the hallway. Spotting a door she had ran towards it before the social worker could stop her and had gone outside to look for the window of the room where the conference was held.

She had missed most of what the people had said but she caught the general gist as their words drifted through the window. Joanie had pulled a dustbin closer and clambered onto it in order to look inside…

"… you do understand then Dame Skyla that Joanie-Ellen is a very sensitive case. We understand as well as anybody that she needs to be treated differently than most of the other cases. Your offer is wonderful, though we suspect that your motives are misguided… Please, allow us to finish… They are not misplaced but your vision is not enough. Time and again Joanie-Ellen has proven to be immune to reform. Putting her into another foster home will undoubtedly have the same results than all the previous homes. And, you have no experience with such a case. We're sorry, but we cannot allow you to take her into foster care, much less adopt her."

Joanie had felt her world sway as tears and pain choked her. Only the unwelcome, but steadying hands of Dr. Thompson who had followed her outside stopped her from toppling off of the dustbin. She had looked up through the window in a haze of tears, the blinds hiding her from the people in the room. Dame Skyla must've taken her seat after they left the room but, with a calm expression she stood up again, pulling one of Dr. Thompson's files closer. She flipped it open determinedly and slowly paged to where she wanted to be. Looking down, she read carefully, picking out words.

"Patient, Joanie-Ellen, aged 9. Admitted to emergency room with injuries to head, torso, arms. Broken ulna. Bruised rib. Concussion. Nature of injury, procured through assault. Please take note, suspicious bruising several days old," she looked up, her eyes cold. "You used a lot of words. Misplaced. Misguided, misunderstood. But, ladies and gentleman can you say _mistake_. _Misjudgement_." She glanced at the file again. "As I understand it, these were the injuries Joanie received at one of her previous foster homes. She was beaten up by one of the older kids. I believe that she kicked off the other kid's knee ligaments. He too was admitted and on both of them the hospital staff found evidence of severe beatings. One of your special homes. One for special kids. Like Joanie."

There had been a stunned silence in the room.

"She and the other children in the couple's care were removed," someone offered but Dame Skyla had not let them off the hook.

"She was nine," she said coldly. "Nine ladies and gentleman. Nine. Could she have been that horrible then? That far beyond redemption? You stare yourself blindly at her faults. Make them known, publish them in your reports. Warn people about them. You speak of giving Joanie chances but what you are truly doing is closing every door you push her through. You and the people in whom you entrusted Joanie's care have shaped her into the vision you had of her. There is no _service_ in what you have done to her. None."  
Again, the people had tried to protest but Dame Skyla, standing them before them almost like a queen, had raised her hand for silence.

"My school is not perfect, and I can assure you neither am I. You know this, it's all in the _papers_ before you. But, it is my hope that Joanie's imperfection can be changed with mine. She doesn't need another foster home and I shudder to think of what reform centre you have in mind for her because you clearly believe that as well. What Joanie needs, what she really needs, is hope. Hope for a future. Hope for a new life, hope for a way of life paved not by prejudice but support and understanding. My school can offer that for her. She has talent, she had passion and forged in the right way those two things can carry her to a better life than the one that awaits her now. Yes, it's not conventional but then neither is she. I ask you to please reconsider your choice. Don't take hope from Joanie's life. Please." When she had seen that her words had not swayed them Dame Skyla had taken a deep breath and shook her head.

"In a very short time," she said – her voice softer, "I have come to recognize a great worth of spirit in Joanie-Ellen. It pains me to see that you refuse to see it. I must tell you now, if you do not grant me custody over Joanie I will take this matter further. I will fight for her until all your options are exhausted but to give her to me. Because I can assure you, I have more options than you do." She looked up to meet their gazes. "I will take her, and that's the end of it."

&&&

Leaning against the doorway of the dwarfs' cottage Joanie fought to control her emotions.

"I will take her, and that's the end of it."

The Horse's voice seemed to echo around them, but it did not sway the dwarf woman.

"If you will not abandon this hazardous quest," she said softly, insistently, "at least let her wait a few days to recover. Don't take her now, please."

The Horse sighed and looked past the woman to where Joanie was standing in the doorway. She could feel him asking her and shook her head quickly. She stepped forward and gave Urla a desperate look.

"I would rather loose my wings than spend another day without my mother," she said desperately. "I don't need to be able to fly to be with her, but I need her to… to be with her." She swallowed. "And, we have to return to the wingdom. It's unprotected at the moment. Skyclone can just waltz in and…" The name meant nothing to Urla, she could see it. Joanie balled her fist and closed her eyes.

"I'm not ungrateful for what you have done for me," she said, "nor am I immune to the kindness you showed me and the way you have tried to heal me to the best of your abilities. I am truly grateful, and I will repay you in kind one day if I can. But I'm leaving the moment he's willing to go."

Urla stood between them as if she was being torn between two poles. Her old face danced between desperateness and understanding. Finally, when her husband joined her side and laid a hand on her shoulder she sighed in defeat.

"If you two majesties are willing to wait," she said a touch dryly, "I'll prepare some supplies. You'll need to eat child, and you'll find travelling uncomfortable without my medicines. Ingwar, find a cloak that the child can use." When she walked to the house Joanie quickly stepped outside to get out of her way. She didn't look at the young girl but said very pointedly in her direction. "I don't think she realizes how cold the journey will be."

&&&

To Be Continued…

_AN: Hello guys. I hope this chapter finds you all well! I most certainly am not, lol, I woke up with a terrible cold this morning. Sneezing, runny nose, headache, the works, lol. I'm plain miserable in a happy way! ;) Anyway, I didn't write this to complain. I'd like to make you attend on a few things. Firstly, this is the last chapter that I'll write from my country. I'm not sure how moving will affect my writing. It shouldn't, but I'll be very sad I think and that tends to put a damper on my creative spirit so if you don't hear from me in a long while, don't fear – I'll come back as soon as I'm ready. You will be the only thing that won't change in my life and I hold it to be a great comfort. Secondly, for those who don't know, you can now find the sky dancers episodes on You Tube. Just type it into the search column. I believe the first and second episodes are there. Do yourself a favour and also read the comments. It's very funny. _

_Have a great day and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm adding quite a lot from the last time I posted this story. My mind just can't leave well enough alone, lol._

Take care and always keep well, 

_Yours, _

_Alyssa_

_-;-- _


	14. The Journey Ahead

Chapter 14b

**Chapter 14: The Journey Ahead. **

"Here."

Standing alongside the Horse, Joanie turned around to see Urla hold a brown leather travelling bag her way. She bit her lip and quietly looked up to meet the woman's eyes. The dwarf woman had not spoken to her since failing to convince the Horse to let her stay until she's better. The woman had been nothing but good to her and Joanie couldn't help but feel that she had somehow let her down by siding with the Horse. She was afraid of the resentment the woman might feel but luckily she saw a familiar kindness shining out from her clear eyes.

"It's stronger than yours," the woman said quietly. "And bigger. I've put two flasks in for you. One's soup for tonight, the other's medicine. The soup's got a black top, it will hopefully still be warm when you two stop. There's also some bread and fruit. It's not very exciting but it will last you for the rest of your journey to the Crystal Mountains." She glanced at the Horse. "Come by here again when you are done. Then I can look at your wounds and hopefully you and your mother can have a day or two's rest."

Perhaps it was the kindness in her eyes, or the fact that she mentioned Skyla but Joanie felt her throat constrict with tears. She nodded quietly, carefully taking the bag from her outstretched hand. She took a deep breath to say thank you but couldn't get the words to form in her mouth. She looked down at her feet, swallowing heavily, wondering whether the woman thought she was ungrateful. Her unspoken question was answered when she heard Urla sigh softly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Look at me child," the woman whispered. "Please."  
Joanie carefully met the woman's gaze, once again vaguely thinking that it felt strange to have people who were close to her own height around her. Urla's hand travelled from her shoulder to her cheek.

"Don't look like that," the woman continued. "I can understand why you are doing this love. It's very noble of you. For your own sake, I would've liked it if you stayed at least one more eve. But, you have to go. I can understand that."

Joanie bit her lip harder when the tight feeling in her throat increased. Unable to manage anything else she nodded and carefully leaned forward towards the woman. She was not physically comfortable enough with people to initiate the whole ritual herself but luckily the dwarf woman caught on without pause and with a quiet laugh leaned over and hugged her. "Too humble for a queen," she said in the Horse's direction. "Are you ready to go?"

The Horse nodded, turning away from where he had been watching Ingwar shuffle around. "As soon as your husband joins us," he said. "Thank you for your quick preparations Urla. I can always count on you and your husband."  
Urla sighed and nodded. "I sometimes wish you can't," she said. "Hear me again my Lord, she shouldn't travel."

The Horse didn't comment but just tossed his head. "Can you find out what's keeping your husband?" he queried mildly. "I'm not sure what he's doing, but he told us to wait."  
Urla nodded and giving Joanie's cheek one last pat quickly shuffled off to her husband's side. The Horse blew out a short breath and glanced at Joanie who quickly rubbed a few slow tears from her eyes. "One more night will not make a large difference," he said. "And I do think the journey will be more comfortable if you allow your injuries to settle."

Joanie swallowed and stubbornly shook her head. "I can't do that," she said. "We need too… As much time… We have to get there as soon as possible. I… I need to get there as soon as possible."

"Did he tell you that it will take you two at least two days to get there?"  
Both Joanie and the Horse turned to see Ingwar walk up with a map rolled up in his hands. He also had a cloak or coat of some sorts slung up over his one shoulder.

"Do you know how far you're going young sky queen?"  
When Joanie shook her head the man smiled and opened the map. "Our Lord knows," he said, "or so we trust. But I thought that it would be good for you to have a visual guide of where you are going."  
Joanie felt a warm rush of gratitude in her as the old man carefully pointed out their route to her. His wife meanwhile took the cloak from his shoulder and, without hindering her, fastened it around Joanie's neck. It was quite heavy, and the youth could feel immediately that it would be warmer than anything she had with her. She didn't fail to notice all the mountain ranges that they had to pass and it disturbed her somewhat that all had been drawn with snow on. The wingdom was essentially a warm place in both summer and winter. Joanie had always wondered what happened to balance out the inevitable cold and somehow, she got the feeling that it was the Flightless Realm.  
Sensing the Horses impatience, Joanie kept all her questions about the journey to herself when the old dwarf finished and rather gave the man a grateful smile.

"Thank you," she said sincerely when the man rolled up his map again.  
Ingwar smiled and bowed ever so slightly. "Anything to make the Queen's journey more comfortable."  
She winched inwardly, but hid it and glanced at the Horse. "Is there anything else that we need to do?"

The magnificent animal shook his head. "I believe it's time to say our good byes for now," he said and turned to the two dwarves. "I would like to get at least a few hours worth of travelling in before we settle for the night. With your leave my friends?"

Urla looked as if it was the last thing she wanted to give her ruler but with grudging consent inclined her head. She missed the wink her husband gave the Horse as she turned around for the cottage. "I'm going to get Joanie a blanket roll," she said. "I really don't want her to be cold."

Joanie thought of telling the woman that she had had worse during her time on the street but decided that allowing the woman to care wasn't going to hurt either of them. Although she didn't smile, she felt an inward lift of the tension in her heart.

It was strange how one's point of view could change. She would not have thought like that a year ago.  
Holding onto the feeling Joanie turned to Urla's husband and gave him a deep bow.

"Master Ingwar," she said to the floor, "thank you for your time. And… For showing me where we're going. Thank you."

The man chuckled softly and bowed back to her, his much deeper. "It was a pleasure meeting you, your highness," he said and smiled at her. "I hope you succeed in your journey. I think… you need time to grow into your title."  
Joanie sniffed and felt herself blushing. "I hope I don't have to," she said and watched Urla as she came back out of the house, two blanket rolls in her arms. "I'm… Not queen material. I'm just me."

"Still too humble," the woman said with a small smile as she joined them. "Here, I'm going to hang both of these over your good shoulder." She did so gently then smiled at the young Sky Dancer. "It's been a pleasure Joanie. I hope that we will see you again. To be precise," she glanced meaningfully at the Horse. "I'm counting on it."  
Joanie smiled gratefully and, steadying the rolls with her free arm, bowed forward. "Thank you for everything," she said, "for… preparing me for the journey. And for treating me. I have not been a good guest."

The old woman laughed and briefly touched Joanie's shoulder. "You were a perfect guest, you just weren't always perfectly treated. Now, off with you two. The sun's well past its zenith."

Joanie nodded and turned to the Horse who had been watching the exchange quietly. When their gazes met he flicked his ears forward and flared his nostrils. Joanie made to bow but before she could he carefully stretched one leg forward, dropped his head and bowed to her ever so slightly. Goosebumps travelled up her spine as the sun caught his wings, sending silver flashes across the clearing.  
When the Horse rose she knew that he was smiling at her.

"It's a bow long overdue, Joanie-Ellen Zavere," he said. "Now, let's go find your mother."

&

Jade wandered around the city without much purpose until she reached the palace. There she hesitated, wondering whether Slam was still outside or whether he had already returned. Somehow, she knew that she couldn't face seeing him again just yet. She regretted not touching him again, not leaning against him when their comfort became intimate. She regretted not knowing how it felt to kiss him.  
She regretted a lot of things.

Looking up at the magnificent tower of the palace she wondered when she would be able to go home again. She knew that the school was looked after. The ex-wingdom physician Lord Weirmon, who had had his wings seared off by Skyclone, had taken on the role of Skyla's personal aide as well as giving music lessons in his free time. Skyla always let him know when they went to the wingdom. If they stayed away longer than planned he always made sure that he had a valid excuse ready for those who looked for both them and Skyla. She was very sure that he was taking care of everything in the school. With a touch of guilt she realized that he must be getting pretty worried.  
It was hard not having an effective way of communicating between the wingdom and the academy.

She missed her father and wondered when she would see him again. If Joanie didn't succeed in bringing Skyla back from the Flightless Realm then they were at the mercy of her control over the Skyswirlstone. The incident which had sent them back into Time had shown just how important control over the stone was. She didn't think that it would be wise for Joanie to try and use it immediately.

She sighed and rubbed over her face.  
_She really didn't want to go into the palace, she really didn't want to chance running into Slam._

It took some thinking to come up with another option, but when she did she felt quite pleased with herself. It was a place devoid of memories of Skyla or Joanie, yet filled with a comfort from home.  
The Royal Library.  
While she was there, she decided, she might as well do some research on the Flightless Realm. She had only heard of it once, when they had been trapped in the Past. She had made a note then to look it up in their library at some point or another but because they had been so relieved to be home and so scared that Skyla might find out where they had really been she had never gotten round to it. Now, she decided was as good a time as any. It wasn't as if she had anything else to do.

The Royal Library was a stone's throw away from the palace. She knew that the only other Sky Dancer she stood at risk of meeting there was Camille because she had been trying very hard to understand wingdom politics. She had been surprised at her friend's vigour to understand the turmoil that Joanie's crazy act had thrown the wingdom in. Or, for that matter Joanie's right over the Skyswirlstone.

The library was relatively devoid of people. Even the scribes, normally busy and full of 'lost in their own thoughts' vigour seemed few and relatively subdued. She made her way to the catalogues immediately and took special care to write down exactly where the book was. She found it amusing that the catalogue not only provided the place of the book but also, in a separate book, exact directions on how to get there.  
The library was pretty big and she could well imagine getting lost in it.

Her directions took her to the far end of the library where she was quite shocked to find that she was not alone. Someone else it seemed had beaten her to her research though she wasn't doing a very good job.

Jade hesitated then carefully walked forward to where the Lady Faolin was slumped over a desk sleeping. The woman was older than Skyla with the same light hair and easy grace but she used to be more open, easier to laugh. Jade had always liked her, though like everybody else she was somewhat wary of her because she could be pretty sharp tongued when it suited her. The past few days had been rough on her though. Camille had sat in on a few of the council meetings and had reported back of horror stories of people arguing over Joanie's claim to the wingdom as well as debating what would happen if she didn't come back.

There had been some disturbing suggestions. One of them being to approach Skyclone. He was, some of the council members had argued, the only true member left of the royal family. It was strange how easily they forgot that he had started all of this.  
Lady Faolin had stood in the middle of it all and had done a good job and deflecting any of the rogue appeals. Jade knew well though that this was not the end of it. She hoped that the woman would hold out long enough for Joanie to come back. Hopefully with Skyla in tow.  
Sighing Jade covered the last of the distance between her and the woman and lay a gentle hand on her shoulder, causing her to start up and blink disorientated. When her confused gaze landed on Jade she paused then rubbed at her mouth and blinked at the books that lay littered around her. With a guilty expression she first rubbed at her cheek then dabbed at some moisture on the one's cover.

"I'm not even going to ask what time it is," she said her voice hoarse. "Hello Jade."

Jade smiled and pushed a cup of cold tea closer to the harassed looking woman.

"Past midday," she said. "You alright?"

Faolin didn't look up immediately but gratefully took the cup and took a sip, grimacing at the taste of cold tea. She looked up and studied Jade for a moment before her old smile crept back to her tired features. "As alright as you are my dear," she said. "I must've dosed off. I came in this morning after council…" she looked around her and shrugged. "I didn't mean to use this as an extended bedroom but there you go, I always knew libraries were good for all sorts of things."

Jade smiled and pulled a chair closer.

"I take it you were here to do research on the Flightless Realm?" she queried and rolled a forgotten apple closer to the woman as well. It had been all but drowned under a sea of notes.  
Faolin nodded with a smile and pulled the apple closer but didn't bite into it immediately. "If you can call it that," she said with an exasperated sigh. "It's more like gathering bits and pieces of information on it really. There isn't a lot of information concerning that part of our realm. Very few people travel that way. You are more than welcome to look at my notes while I leave for the corner room. I'll be with you in a moment or two."

Jade pulled her notes closer as the councilwoman left the table. They were randomly distributed but luckily numbered and referenced. She just started on them when the woman returned, looking a bit more composed and certainly a bit lighter. She started playing with the apple again, looking intently at Jade as she skimmed through the notes. Jade was frowning intently, taking in as much as she could.

"You didn't start on the Flightless Realm," she said as she picked out a pile of notes. "Am I understanding this correctly, you researched…"

The woman smiled and nodded.

"Joanie's feather," she said – motioning with the apple. "As you can see though, the only thing I found worth mentioning was that there's nothing to mention."

Jade frowned and skimmed over the notes. "But, there must be some mention of it somewhere," she said. "I mean… It's… A Sky Dancer's Feather. Are there research or mention of our feathers?"

The woman nodded and bit into the apple. "Oh yes," she said when she finished chewing. "Your feathers are mentioned almost everywhere. They are tied to this realm you see. I believe that they are as old as the Skyswirlstone itself. Joanie's feather on the other hand. Well. That's another matter completely."

Jade felt terribly slow. The problem with Lady Faolin was that she was also very quick on her uptake and tended to presume that other people were as well.

"You mean Joanie's feather? But Skyla had it in her possession."

Lady Foalin smiled and shook her head. "You forgot that it wasn't Jade," she pointed out with a smile. "Joanie was sworn in as a Sky Dancer a few weeks after she came here for the first time. The reason for the delay was because there had been no feather available for her. The Tinker gave the Silver Feather to Skyla. She never even knew of it before he produced it."

Jade frowned and glanced at some of the notes. She recognized a name on them, Anwar, it was the name the Tinker went by in the past. She had not heard it mentioned here in this time at all.

"Why would he have it?" she queried and added tentatively. "He was just a scribe."

Faolin chuckled softly. "King's advisor, posing as a scribe," she said with a smile. "The Tinker has an interesting political background. Social as well, and it was that which had kept him from being a public advisor. Don't ask anything, it's too complicated to explain now. I'll do so on a full stomach one day. Anyway, the Tinker had gone travelling when he was younger, just after Skyla and Skyler got married. His mission had been to get to the realm beyond the Flightless Realm – or find out whether there was such a place. He was gone for years, only coming back just before the old king's death, probably just to say farewell. He never spoke of his travels, but we always wondered what trinkets he had brought along. He gave up advising then and became as he is now – just the Tinker. He only came back to politics after Skyler's death to help Skyla."

Jade sat back, trying to take it all in and also to link up some of the information between the Tinker and the Master Anwar they had met. She realized that it was probably their fault that he had gone travelling. In the Past they had been pretty surprised at the mention of realms beyond the Flightless Realms. The circles in which their adventures worked frightened her.

"So, you think that he got the feather in the Flightless Realm?" Jade asked tentatively.

Faolin, who somehow managed to make eating an apple a thoughtful and intense action, nodded. "That's what led me here," she said. "It's just…" She sat forward. "Think about it Jade. Joanie going off to the Flightless Realm. Future queen of the sky realm, a girl from your realm, wearing what might just be a feather from the Flightless Realm. Call me an imp but I think there's more going on here…"

&

She felt lighter than she had in days.  
Joanie-Ellen watched the horizon with a strong feeling of determination. They had been travelling in silence for quite some time, a period that had somehow felt precious because she had regained the rudder which she had lost when she had lost the race. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath of cold air. It gave her the courage to look at the strong neck in front of her, watch the way the Horse's main tossed in the wind. He was… Something else, she decided. She wasn't sure what to think of him anymore or for that matter the hold he had over her. She was smart enough to realize that she had not been let off the hook yet. Somehow, she knew that in a way her service still belonged to him. Yet… He had bowed to her.

She sniffed and took a steadying breath.

"How did you know my name?" She whispered the question at first but realized that it would be impossible for him to hear her. Gathering her courage again, she spoke the question out loud.

"How did you know my full name?"

At first she thought that he still didn't hear her. Then, his skin against hers rippled and he snorted into the wind.

"I am not ignorant of what's happening in the Flightless Realm, Silver Feather."

His tone was not cold, nor was it distant. There was an undertone of caution that made her sit up suddenly and snap.

"Are you spying on us?"

His chest shook underneath her as he chuckled. "No Joanie, most certainly not," he said amused. "To what end? To _invade_ the Sky Realm perhaps? What would people like Urla and Ingwar do there?"

Joanie blinked, feeling foolish.

"They are not the only people in your world," she said defensively, trying to hide her embarrassment. "It sounds ominous. The way you put it."

Again she could feel him laughing. "Most of the inhabitants of my Realm are like Ingwar and Urla Joanie," the Horse said with a chuckle. "They have no need to be otherwise. They are not simpletons. But, the world does not need to move at a complicated pace for them. I believe your wingdom folk are a lot the same. Peaceful mostly, usually unable to defend themselves. That's why you and other Sky Dancers are needed is it not?"

Joanie still felt uncomfortable and shrugged, immediately aware of the twinge in her shoulder. "I guess," she said as she looked out to the clouds. "It doesn't matter, here and now. How did you know my name?"

The Horse breathed a suffered sigh. "Because it was told to me," he said exasperated. "By a communal friend, I believe. The person told me you had the Silver Feather. That is how I knew of you."

The young Sky Dancer frowned and touched her belt. "What's that got to do with anything?" she queried, perhaps a little bit too defensively. It had been the best day of her life, the day she had been made a Sky Dancer. She had somehow felt justified for the first time in her life, as if everybody who had ever thought that she would never amount to anything had been proven wrong. It had been a big day for her because she always suspected that, like the people at social services, there had been many who looked at her negatively.

The Horse was quiet for sometime. "Everything and nothing," he said eventually. "It's not like the other feathers. Keep that in mind Joanie. It works in the Realm of Flight, but it does not need to adhere to its rules. It was a gift, a sign that its time for all the remaining realms to stand together. I believe that a time will come where that will be very important."

Joanie shivered and pulled the cloak closer to her with her free hand. From lack of anything to say to the Horse's foreboding she chuckled nervously and shrugged.

"Well I've never adhered to any rules," she said proudly. "So that's probably why we get on so well."

She hand meant the feather, but the Horse chuckled as if she had said something funny.

"Perhaps Silver Feather," he said. "We shall see…"

&

_AN: I finished this a few days ago. It was the first chapter that I wrote in my new country. I didn't post it immediately because I had promised my Phantom of the Opera fans that I'll do their chapter first and being a bit tired of PM's from their side saying: UPDATED OR WE'LL REBEL! I decided not to tempt fate and post this first! Lol, anyway. I hope that this finds you all well and safe. Thank you for coming back and thanks for reading this! I hope that the next chapter will come out sooner._

Love to all!

Alyssa. 


	15. Silver Storm

**Chapter 15: Silver Storm. **

_Two beings faced each other. Both singular in themselves. Unique, mysterious and alone in their duties, they looked at each other as equals and with respect. Perhaps even bitter amusement, for they were a reflection of the other.  
He was the first to speak, the white horse with his majestic wings. _

"_I am sorry to hear about your father." _

_She did not speak at first, but unconsciously crossed her arms and hugged herself. Her eyes belied nothing though, partially hidden by a mixture of pure white and pitch black hair that seemed to belie her youthful face._

"_What's done is done," she said monotonously, her eyes never leaving her companion. "I believe he chose to go to his death. What ever the circumstances." _

_The white horse flicked his tail. "That must be harder for you then." _

_She sniffed, kicked up a cloud of dust despite her attempt to compose her emotions. "I did not come here to discuss this," she said harsher than she intended. "I bring news from the Sky Realm." _

_The horse sighed, a deep sound as he blew out his breath. "It does not interest me, you know this." _

_There was a clear light in her indigo eyes as she smiled suddenly, a small smile, devoid of mirth. Her arms relaxed and she faced him, her hand travelling to the staff she had leaned against her side. "It should," she said. "There is one amongst them who bears a silver feather." _

_It startled him, she could clearly see that it did. _

"_Impossible," he snapped, ears flat on his head. "It cannot be."  
The sorceress continued smiling and shrugged. "I saw it, even felt its power. You need not believe me, but it's out there." _

_Again, he shook his head. "I can assure you I would be the first to know if it is," his tone was dry, almost irritated. "Lady Oriana, I hate to ask this in such a rude fashion but what are you on about?" _

_She ignored his question, turning her gaze away from him and into the world of memory. "I met her, a young girl. I believe she's the reason my world's changed. Not by her own hand of course. But perhaps by her appearance."  
Regaining his composure, the horse watched his companion, cautiously perhaps for he believed that a part of her sanity had died with her father. "I have not met her," he said slowly. "You must be mistaken. It cannot be, especially not in the hands of child from the Sky Realm. You know as well as I do that I care nothing for their world, or they for mine. It has always been that way." _

_Her attention came back to him with the sharpness of a whip cracking. "You didn't care anything about my world either," she snapped. "But I tell you what my father told you years ago. What happened to our realm, the _destruction _of our realm can happen again. To yours, to the Sky Realm, to the world beyond ours. None of you are immune to the legacy which have become mine! The time to stand together will come one day, and if we cannot let the differences which stands between us go then we will all be annihilated. Do you want to see your people go through the same ordeal that I have?" _

_He could not answer to her tirade, but said softly and slowly. _

"_I have not met her." _

_The sorceress took a deep breath and shook her head. Touching her hair, briefly running her fingers through her loose strands and studying the white hairs among them she closed her eyes. _

"_Then you will one day," she said slowly. "Take care Lord of the Flightless Realm, change is coming. If you will not hear of it, you will feel it."_

_He was quiet for a very long time. Flicking his tail he made to turn but hesitated. _

"_What's her name?"_

&

Joanie suspected that it was just short of midnight when they finally stopped for a rest. The Horse had pushed on well past sunset and she suspected that he was stopping for her leisure instead of his. If she had not been so tired and cold, she would've told him to carry on. As it was though, she barely registered their surroundings only that it was out of the wind. They had landed in the mouth of a cave that, despite the time of evening, was quite brightly lit. The moonlight seemed to bounce off of the walls as the Horse stepped into the cave and it took her a moment or two to realize that the stones themselves were glowing. The Horse must've realized that she was looking at them because he snorted to get her attention and tossed his tail in the direction of the wall.

"There are crystals embedded in the wall," he said. "Not the same as those in the Crystal Mountains though. You'll find they are completely different."

Joanie forced her attention away from the wall and swallowed dryly. She was quite thirsty, but had not had the time to take any of the things that Urla had sent with her. "Tell me about the Crystal Mountains," she managed. "What's so significant about them? What is this curse that took my mother?"

The Horse snorted and stopped halfway into the cave. "Get down," he said gently. "Walk a bit, it will ease your muscles. I will tell you their story when we reach the mountains. It will be easier to explain then, and there will be time I assure you.

Joanie looked at the ground, unable to shake the feeling that it felt very far. Struggling with her one arm she carefully leaned over, closing her eyes as her side stretched sharply. Her legs were numb from sitting as long as she did and it took her sometime to finally unhook her legs from around his wings. When she was in the right position, Joanie just allowed herself to drop to the floor unceremoniously. The jolt was enough to take her breath away and she took a moment or two just to collect her senses as well as recover from the ache in her side. The Horse turned his head back to look at her but didn't say anything as she struggled up and limped to his side. "Tell me about the Flightless Realm then," Joanie said tightly, her attention focused on her side. "Why can't I fly here?"

The Horse's ears twitched. "Ah," he said with what sounded like a smile. "That I can answer Silver Feather. It's about balance, everything in the world is."

Joanie resisted the urge to groan and roll her eyes and rather said. "The natural order?"

"Yes," the Horse said sounding pleased. "That is a part of it. You see Joanie, everything in the world has an opposite. Earth and wind, fire and water, spirit and death, the Sky Realm and the Flightless Realm. We both exist for the sake of the other. I cannot use the Skyswirlstone, for its magic is closed to me for the same reason you cannot fly in this realm. Your Sky Dancers will also find that their powers won't work here."  
He led them to a cavern inside the cave where there was a hole in the roof to allow the moonlight through and a thin stream of water running down to the one side. It accumulated in a large circular pool which smelled quite strongly of earth and minerals. Joanie stopped to look around the cavern then quickly followed him to the pool. "But you said that my feather can work here."  
Her statement irritated him. "But I also told you that it's not of the Sky Realm. Focus Joanie."

She winched at the snap in his voice and hung back as he drank some water, occasionally swishing his tail as if at flies. When he was done she went closer and scooped up some water herself. "Where does it come from then?" she queried carefully. "Here?"  
The Horse didn't answer her but went over to a fern growing from the side of the wall and pulled at it. It disturbed Joanie that he ate like a normal horse.

"I had heard of another realm," she tried instead. "Inhabited by magicians, but it was destroyed. Years ago I think. What's that about?"

The Horse turned his ears forward and glanced at her as he chewed on the leaves. "It was years before your time I would suspect," he said. "Yes. There was such a realm. It stood, I would say, in opposite to your world, where there is no magic."

Joanie raised an eyebrow and after some consideration, finally sat down next to the pool. She didn't really have the strength or motivation to go else where. "Why was it destroyed?"

The Horse pulled at one more fern leaf then came over and carefully sank down next to Joanie. She couldn't believe that he had had enough food, but looking at the plant she realized that if he pulled at it more it would probably die.

"There were a lot of reasons," he was answering her previous question. "But ultimately it came down to the fact that one man didn't respect the balance and boundaries set to keep our worlds in place. You see, that's something you should remember Joanie. One man, one person can change the world."

Joanie looked up from fishing the flasks out of the bag and looked into the Horse's clear blue eyes. She shivered and turning away from him tossed the contents of the bag out onto the cave floor. There were some fruit there and as promised some bread and what looked like a sandwich. Joanie took the sandwich and rolled some of the fruit over to the Horse.

"People like that should not be born."

He snorted, almost as if he was laughing at her. "But they are Silver Feather. The question is just, what are you going to do about it?"  
Joanie shrugged and tentatively bit into the sandwich. "Nothing," she said. "It's not my problem. I don't care what happens to the world. I don't care about balance. Or even your natural order, even though I can respect it. All I care about, all that matters to me is Dame Skyla and getting her back."  
He flicked his tail in her direction, still staring at her. "You are very short sighted. What will you do if you get her back? What will you do if you don't?"

Joanie shrugged, not looking at the horse but at the fern he had eaten from.

"I won't stop until I get her back," she said slowly. "And, when I get her back we'll go back to our lives and I will make sure that something like this never happens again. I'll die before I'll let her be taken like this again."

The Horse was quiet for a moment then said gravely. "What if you manage to get her back, but I don't allow you to go back to the wingdom with her?"

The question stopped her short, sending cold spasms of fear through her. Joanie blinked at the Horse then closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath she tried to shrug as if she didn't care. "Then I'm your problem."

He surprised her by laughing, a clear, earthy sound which echoed across the cavern. "Well done Silver Feather," he said chuckling still, "well done."

Still shaken by his statement, it took her a moment or two to realize that his threat was not immediate. When she managed to calm her heart she smiled tentatively and shrugged. "That's the truth of it, you can't deny it." She finished half her sandwich and turned her attention to the flasks. They sat in silence as she drank from the medicine flask, winching at the foul taste – with a hint of the same strong taste of the liquid that they had used to put her to sleep that first night, and then used the some of the tea to wash it down. Again, she left a bit and put it back in the bag along with everything else. She could hear the Horse's breathing and when she looked towards him again she noticed that he was not staring at her, but out towards the cavern entrance. From her position, she could just make it out. There was a particularly silver glow around it. Curious, she stood up, feeling a little bit geriatric, and went to stand next to him so that she could see what he was looking at. The moon had just come up and was shining directly into the cave mount. Joanie looked at it for a long time, then down at her silver feather, noticing the way it seemed to flash silver in the moonlight.

She took a deep breath and bit her lip. "Truth be told," she said hesitantly. "If I know Skyla's alive, I wouldn't mind staying here. It will be a fair price to pay, you know? I really wouldn't care if it means that she's safe. I… I love her enough for that. And, if I can get just one chance to tell her…" She trailed off quietly.

The Horse didn't say anything to this, but gently nuzzled her back. "Sit against me Silver Feather," he said quietly. "It will be more comfortable and warmer. It will be quite a cold tonight."

Joanie turned to look at him, his face so close to her that she could stroke his head. She hesitated, then carefully ran her hand down his head to his muzzle as she would've done with a plain horse. He blew his warm breath into her hand when she reached his nose but didn't say anything. Not looking at him, Joanie drew her hand back and, taking the blanket from her back and unrolling it, carefully sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder. She shifted until she was as comfortable as she could get, thinking about her years on the street. She couldn't imagine how she would manage now if she had to go back, knowing what it felt like to have a home.

She could feel his breathing against her, the rhythmic movement of his chest behind her. Perhaps it was Urla's medicine, but she soon found herself becoming drowsy in that distant way of sleep. She watched the moon as she drifted off.

He waited until she was asleep, until her breathing deepened and he felt her body relax against him completely. He then nuzzled her, tried to pull the blanket over her as best as he could manage then sighed deeply.

He turned his gaze back to the moon and closed his eyes, shifting his wings to give the small girl's body more protection from the potential draft. As he did so, there was a flash of silver in the moonlight.

&

She woke up with her cheek resting against the cold, slightly damp floor. Joanie opened her eyes groggily, blinking through the unfocused haze of her drug induced sleep. She didn't know where she was immediately but, she saw the half eaten fern growing from the cavern wall she sat up with a start, winching at the pull of her tired muscles. She had visions of the Horse leaving her stranded in the cave but when she looked around she saw that he was standing by the opening. Joanie hesitated and first tried to roll up her blanket before going to him. She failed horribly and deciding to count her losses and just leave it. Gathering up everything else that had been in her bag, and taking a sip of cold tea, Joanie carefully made her way to the Horse. She stood just behind him, hoping that he would notice her but his attention was focused somewhere else. Nostrils flared, ears forward, it felt as if his whole being was reaching out to the world around him. She hesitated then carefully touched him with her free hand, causing his skin to ripple underneath her fingers. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

He didn't answer immediately but flared his nostrils, snorted loudly and tossed his head. "A storm," he said pawing the ground irritated. "Coming this way."

Joanie frowned and looked outside. Dawn had not yet come, though the sky was already grey with light. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"How do you know?" she whispered. "There's no clouds. Nothing."

She was afraid that her question might irritate him but it was not to be.

"Feel it," he whispered, "the same way your mother knows when something is wrong in your wingdom, I know what's happening in mine. We don't just sense trouble, we sense the pulse of the land. You will, must learn this if you are to be a good Queen one day."

She didn't know what to say to that. Looking out again Joanie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She thought that she detected a hint of cold on the wind but she wasn't sure.

"What do we do now?"

He stood very still.

"One of two things," he said quietly. "Risk it or wait it out."

The young Sky Dancer bit her lip and sniffed as she pulled her cloak closer. "How long will it take if we wait it out?" She tried to see if he would show any emotion at her question but his attention was still focused elsewhere.

"The season of storm is dawning," he said simply. "If it's as bad as I think it might be, well. A day, two. Even three perhaps."

Joanie gasped despite herself and shook her head. "No," she said quickly, "no, we can't wait that long. It's… It will take us… No."

He surprised her by laughing as he turned his head towards her. "I didn't think you would like that option," he said. "Do you have all you need from the cave? What about your blanket?"  
She glanced back at it and shook her head, relief and fear pulsing through her like a tumble of opposing forces. "I can't roll it up. It will have to stay."

The Horse tossed his head and tucked his one front leg on underneath him so that he could bow down. "Then get on Silver Feather," he said with a sound so close to a laugh, "and let us chase the wind."

&

Some time into their journey, the wind was chasing them.

Joanie felt the cloak pull at her neck and not for the first time considered letting it go completely. She had given up trying to keep it closed and had rather shifted her grip from her cloak to the Horse's mane. His body was slippery with rain. The wind was stronger than anything she had ever felt before, making the rain feel like tiny pellets against her. She didn't know how the Horse could stand flying in such conditions but he did. She pulled herself closer to his neck, tried to hide her face in his mane in a desperate attempt to get away from the rain but she couldn't. She tried to keep quiet, to make sure that she didn't break his attention but when a strong gust of wind almost knocked her off of him, and most certainly caused him to have a moment or two's lapse in balance, she couldn't take it anymore.

"We can't go on like this!" she shouted above the wind.

The Horse strained, tried to glide but almost got knocked out of the sky by another strong gust of wind and rain.

"I am open to suggestions!" His shout was like thunder, like the rain itself. It took Joanie a moment or two to realize that a bolt of thunder had just run past behind them. She shivered from cold and fear.

"Land!" she yelled at the top of her voice, pulling herself against him. "Can't we land?"

She felt more than saw the Horse shake his head.

"No," his reply was on the wind, "no Silver Feather, I cannot put us down safely. And, if we land now, there's no telling when I'll be able to fly again. But, maybe…"

His reply was lost in the storm as he suddenly shot up and began to fly higher and higher. Joanie could feel the power in his wings beneath her and even as wet and cold as she was she could only admire his strength. But even his physical defiance of the weather seemed to make a difference. Joanie grabbed a handful of mane almost above his ears as she felt herself slipping and tried very hard to keep her legs away from his wings to give him more room but it was a near impossible task.

"What are you doing?!" she yelled when she realized that they were flying straight up towards the clouds.

The Horse lost some ground and for a moment it felt as if they were falling but he recovered and carried on determined.

"Get above the cloud line!" he yelled. "It will be calm there."

Joanie looked up, and felt another surge of fear. The task seemed impossible. Lightening forked all along the bottom of the clouds, trails of power so hot she could feel them. Her own powers had always shown a strange preference towards lightening and static energy, and through that she could feel the hidden pathways of the lightening before they actually occurred. She knew with a cold clarity that they were heading straight towards a web of searing power.

"Waite!" she cried out but her voice was lost above the clamour. "For the love of life wait!"

The Horse carried on as if he was determined to ensnare them in death.

Terrified, Joanie reached towards the only other source of help she knew.

She had never tried to use her powers while completely grounded, much less when she was dependent on someone else for movement, but Joanie remembered suddenly that the Horse had told her that her feather was not like any of the others. Also, Skyla had told her that her powers were unlocked by dance. Strengthened by it. The dance was never specified, the movements never dictated. Like the other Sky Dancers, she had been left to find her own rhythm.  
Rhythm and beat.  
Like the beat of the Horse's wings.

Joanie closed her eyes, trying to imagine herself and the Horse dancing. At first, her fear kept her back and she struggled with her powers, struggled to find a rhythm that she could use.

_Reach deeper_… _Feel it…_

Joanie let go of the Horse's mane and slowly started tracing patterns in the air. She used the wind that tossed her, the rain that pelted at her… Slowly she could feel her power gathering, feel the usable pulse of it inside her. She could not quite harness it yet and spread her awareness further, imagining herself and the Horse in a wild dance together. At first, nothing changed then suddenly it felt as if there was an explosion round her. An amount of power unlike she had ever felt before flowed through the feather to her and to the vision she had in her head. A swirling vortex of silver threads spread out before them, clearing away the wind and rain and somehow channelling the lightening into it, making it even stronger.

The Horse lost his rhythm when he found himself in the clear piece of safety but soon regained his balance. Determined he flew up as quickly as he could as the power surged through and around her. Joanie couldn't hold onto it, couldn't control it. Even before they made any significant progress she could feel her fragile control over the power slip…

"Hold it Silver Feather," the Horse called to her above the torrent, "channel it. You are the key. Channel it!"

Joanie gasped and fought back for control over the powerful surge of magic. The Horse, sensing her distress, flew faster still. It felt like and age but in truth they broke through the top of the clouds minutes later.

Joanie gasped like a diver when the cold, calm air hit her face. Her shock and relief made the power slip away, leaving a strangely hollow feeling inside her. For a few moments, neither of them spoke.  
Joanie could hear the crash of the thunder below them, see the dark clouds underneath the Horse's feet. But, they were both safe and almost mockingly, the weather above the clouds were fair and almost warm from the sun overhead.

Joanie closed her eyes, leaning against the Horse's neck as her whole body turned to jelly.

"We made it," she whispered. "Crumbs. We made it."

She opened her eyes and looked at the Horse's face, allowed herself to feel his exhausted breathing against her body. The hollow feeling passed and suddenly she felt a surge of euphoria.

"We made it!" She yelled and laughed into the cool breeze caused by their movements. "We made it! Thank you! Thank you!" Out of pure delight she started to pat the Horse vigorously on the neck.

The silver winged horse was trying to catch his breath as he glided above the clouds. "That we did," he said, his voice strained with exhaustion, "and, it is with thanks to you and your power."

Joanie was laughing, but stopped suddenly at the mention of her feat. "It wasn't my power," she said quietly, "it had felt as if… The storm. You. Us."

The Horse didn't reply immediately, but glided along until he had the strength to fly up further away from the clouds.

"Life, Silver Feather," he said. "We are all connected in one dance. That was what you felt, and what guided you. One dance. The dance. You used that power to save us."  
She struggled with the idea suddenly, a distant thought nagging at her. "It wasn't me," she insisted. "The power, the surge…"

She looked around them, at the clouds and then carefully, at his silver wings. She didn't say anything, but deep down a voice whispered inside her…

_It felt as if it was coming from you…_

&

_AN: And another one! _

…

…

_I have nothing else to say. What a shock.  
This chapter is dedicated to Terry and Carol, even if they will never read it for giving me a home. And… Apple crumble. _

_Have a great day and thank you so much for reading! (and reviewing, hint hint… ;) )  
Take good care as always, _

_Alyss_

_-;--_


	16. The Crystal Mountains

Chapter 16: The Crystal Mountains

**Chapter 16: The Crystal Mountains. **

She had a nasty suspicion that she had been sleeping when the Horse's voice roused her. Joanie blinked and experienced a moment's panic when she felt her balance shift. Gasping, she reached out wildly and pulled herself closer to the Horse's neck, remaining so until she was sure that she was not falling. She felt the Horse chuckle against her when she finally pushed herself up again and blink around.

"Had a good wink?"

Joanie frowned and rubbed her eyes, irritated by how grainy they felt. "Don't let me sleep again," she begged. "I might fall. Why didn't you wake me?" The sun was very close to the horizon, casting the world in an orange-golden glow. Again, they had not stopped at all during the day.

"If you fall from my back Silver Feather," the Horse said amused. "It's because I meant for you to. Never fear, I won't let you fall."

Joanie sighed and idly ran her hand down the Horse's neck, not surprised to feel the coarse precipitation of dried sweat. "I almost fell during that storm," she said. "That was very scary. When will we land? You must be tired."

The Horse didn't deny it, but rather tossed his head and glided for a few moments. "Soon," he said, "I want you to look down first. Don't be afraid, it will be alright."

She snorted and gave him a slight nudge in the ribs. "I'm not scared." She looked down and felt her stomach turning. "What am I looking at?"

She could see light reflected up from the land to her. She was surprised to see that the whole landscape seemed to beam up light towards them in different shades of gold and silver.

The Horse made a pleased sound and dipped lower without warning, causing her stomach to make a double flip. "The Crystal Mountains," he replied. "We're here."

Ignoring her stomach, Joanie looked at the Horse in disbelief. "The Crystal Mountain?" she queried. "You're kidding. That's…" She looked down again. "Ingwar said that it would take us two and a half days!"

The Horse laughed but she could suddenly hear how tired he was. "Ingwar also expected us to travel conventional hours," he pointed out. "And, they do not understand how much flying can shorten a journey. If they had made the same journey by foot it would've taken them weeks certainly."

Joanie felt herself starting to grin from ear to ear and impulsively leaned over and gave the Horse's neck a fierce hug. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you very very much. I… thank you."

The Horse chuckled, but there was a touch of bitterness in his tone. "Don't thank me yet," he said. "Coming here is just half the journey Silver Feather. We're not near where we should be firstly and I can't take you the whole way. You still have many challenges ahead of you."

Joanie sighed and shrugged half heartedly. "Things are never easy," she said from lack of anything else to say. "What will I have to do?"

He tossed his head, denying her the answer. "I can't tell you," he said. "But now I can tell you of the Crystal Mountains and the Heart of the Mountain. I want you to look at the landscape, at the deep crevices in the mountains and the peculiar light on the ground. All of those patches which you see are Crystals. They surround this mountain range, inside and out. You see, legend has it that millennia ago – two dragons fought over these realms."

Joanie blinked and glanced at the Horse whilst studying the rugged landscape. "Dragons?" she said sceptically. "I've seen them. They're not very big, certainly not big enough to shape the ground."

The Horse chuckled and shook his head. "If you are referring to the dragons the magicians use to ride then you are very short sighted Silver Feather," he pointed out. "No, these are creatures from a time before ours. Ancient beings that could well have _set_ the laws we now follow. The dragons you are referring to are lizards, flying lizards that aren't even a shadow of what these ancient creatures were."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Joanie rubbed her neck and looked at the landscape beneath her. "Back home," she said carefully, "I think that we have a similar legend. Someone, I'm not sure who, believes that the earth is an egg that two dragons are watching over. Waiting for it to hatch or something." She shrugged. "Bit bizarre."

The Horse made a considering sound. "Well," he said. "Perhaps they were fighting over an egg. You never know." She got the feeling that he was smiling. "Anyway, their battle was fierce and bloody. They fought for days, at first in the sky – then on the ground. Their struggle created the mountains, ravines and rivers. Finally, in the heart of my realm their battle became the fiercest. They fought and fought until finally, the mightier of the two managed to pin his challenger to the floor and rip his heart out." He seemed to wait for a reaction from Joanie but the young Sky Dancers was too appalled to comment. She swallowed, the images vividly in her mind. "It doesn't explain the Crystals," she said vaguely. "I don't see the connection."

The Horse chuckled softly. "Too practical Joanie-Ellen," he said amused. "Let me finish. When the one dragon ripped the other's heart out, the dying dragon turned to crystal, as did his heart. Not only that though, but every where his blood had fallen, everything turned to crystal. That's the patches of crystal that you see reflected up and, if you turn your pessimistic gaze to the horizon…" He waited until he heard Joanie gasp as goose bumps travelled up her back. "You'll see the outline of the main mountain range. All in the shape of a fallen dragon."

Joanie stared at the vision before her, beautiful and daunting in the light of the setting sun. The reflected light from the Crystals was so bright that it seemed to create a mirror image of the sun. She was silent for a few moments, taking in the sight then cleared her throat.

"So," she said hesitantly. "I take it that the Heart of the Mountain, the stone which send Skyla here, is the actual heart of the dragon?"

The Horse nodded and flew up higher again. "A piece of it," he said. "Or so legend has it."

She considered this for a few moments. "Then… why did it take my mother?" she queried. "What's with the curse?"

The light was dimming rapidly.

"It is said," the Horse said after a moment's reflection, "that if the dragon's heart is reunited with its body, it will come back to life. This couldn't be allowed to happen so, in an attempt to keep the heart from the mountain, a spell was placed on the crystal heart and divided up. It can never come back to the mountains, but in balance to that, it brings people to it. It's like a trade off to keep the crystal away. It was a malicious curse though and, to counter it, the people brought to the mountain are given one chance to escape."

Joanie felt her body stiffen. "How?" she queried breathlessly. "How can they escape?"

The Horse was quiet for a long time. "I can't tell you," he said finally. "You'll have to figure that one out for yourself little Joanie. All I can tell you though is that it will require the strongest force…"

&

She could not remember ever being nervous to knock on this door.  
Jade hesitated then glanced behind her. "Thank you for coming with me," she said to the person behind her. "I somehow feel as if I need a backup with this one."  
Camille stepped up to her and smiled slightly. "Don't sweat it," she said. "I'm just glad to get out of the palace you know? The tension there is killing me."

Jade smiled at one of her best friends and nodded understandingly. "You've been doing a great job keeping up to date with the council meetings. I would never have thought that one of us should attend them. I never knew that we were allowed."

Jade sighed and shrugged. "I think that Skyla had been… sparing us," she considered. "It's like she only used us for a quarter of what we should be doing."

Camille sighed and nodded. "I think it _was_ to spare us," she said. "I mean, the politics in the realm is brutal Jade. I've only touched the surface of it. You have to admire Faolin who dives deeply into it every day."

Jade nodded and glanced at the door. "It's killing her at the moment I think," she said heavily. "All she really wants to do is mourn Skyla. Or have the time to hope that she'll come back."

Camille sighed deeply and touched her friend's back. "Don't we all?" she said. "I have to ask though Jade, why did you bring me to come with you to the Tinkers? Why not Slam? Normally he would've been your first choice."

Camille didn't miss her friend's winch. "Slam and I…" Jade hesitated. "It's just better if we're… Not close at the moment you know?"

Camille laughed suddenly and hugged her friend. "I _do_ know," she said smiling. "Girl, you two have been S.T since you saw each other for the first time. I can imagine that it's pretty hectic at the moment. Especially with the scene Slam threw yesterday and you running off to sooth him…" she stopped short and gasped. "You two didn't…"

Jade hit her on the shoulder appalled. "No!" she exclaimed. "Of course not. I told you guys that I was Faolin yesterday. Geez. By the way, S.T? What does _that_ stand for?"  
Camille laughed and waved a finger at her friend. "Sexual Tension girl friend," she said. "Now, are we going to bug the Tinker or not? Just to double check, we're here to ask him about Joanie's feather?"

Jade nodded and, bracing herself, knocked on the door. "And anything else we can prize out of him," she said. "I'm tired of guessing Camille. I told you all last night of Faolin's connections. It's just all…"  
There was a chorus of barks from inside the cottage. Whirl and Twirl had not left the Tinker's side since Joanie left them with him. Jade and Camille waited for the door to open when they heard Whirl and Twirl round around behind it but nothing happened. Frowning, Jade knocked again and waited but then there was no response again she looked at Camille. The olive skinned woman's eyes were blazing as she reached for the door.

"If he's gone and disappeared as well then I'm seriously going to find an excuse to shout at someone," the African American girl hissed and opened the door. Whirl and Twirl bounded out, obviously happy to see them.

Greeting them with a quick pat the two Sky Dancers walked in cautiously. Jade looked around, noticing that all the lights were on in the cottage. She felt that it was a good sign even though they could not see the Tinker.

"Maybe he just left?" Camille volunteered as she looked around the empty room. "I'll go check in his workshop."  
Jade, who had been looking around the room, shook her head. "Wait a moment," she said and walked forward slowly, taking note of the half cup of tea on the table. "I think he's here."

Camille blinked and looked around the room again. "Here?"

Jade nodded and closed her eyes. "Master Tinker?" she called softly and listened for a moment. "I'm an expert on remaining hidden Camille. Yes, I think he's here. Master Tinker, come out please. I know you're here." When he still didn't appear she sighed. "Master Anwar, come out please."

There was a shift in the room, nothing more and quite suddenly the Tinker was standing in the corner beside one of the lamps. He seemed to have shrunk in the past four days and older beyond his years.

_Four days?_ A part of her thought. _Is that all that it's been? It feels like years…_

He was hunched up, leaning against the wall.

"No one has called me that in years." His tone would've been amused had it not been for the sadness in his eyes.

Camille blinked surprised and took a step forward as if to embrace the Tinker. "Master Tinker," she said softly. "Why were you hiding from us?"

The Tinker sighed and shook his head as he went back to his vacated chair. "I am… not in the mood for company girls," he said quietly. "I have things that I need to do."  
Jade, who had been looking round the room - taking note of all the boxes and old bedding lying around, frowned at the Tinker. "Like what?" she said dryly. "Going after Joanie?"

Sharp grey eyes turned towards her before the old man smiled slightly. "As always," he murmured, "you're very observant Jade. What will you say if I say yes?"  
The dark haired young woman crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at the old man. "That you are out of your mind," she said. "And, that you should tell us before you go and rather send us. If you were planning to go of course."

The Tinker shook his head with a small smile. "You five are needed here," he pointed out. "You know as well as I do that Sky Clone can attack at any second."

It was Camille who shook her head this time. "Sky Clone's not the only threat that the wingdom has at the moment," she pointed out. "There's politics as well. You're needed Master Tinker. The council is… Faolin needs help. If Joanie doesn't show up by the end of the week they'll be ready to give Sky Clone the throne. You were advisor to the king, and you helped Skyla. You must know how to fight them. Faolin's running out of options."

The Tinker sighed and shook his head. "That's the last place where I'll be of any use you two," he said. "I am not a political player anymore. Technically I never was."

Jade frowned and took the nearest seat. "How is that?" she queried. "I mean, we saw… in… Books that you were the King's advisor. Skyler's father I mean. That's pretty big in politics."

The Tinker shook his head solemnly and looked towards the window, beyond them. "You misunderstood my role," he said. "I was never the King's _advisor_. I was merely a scribe and now, I am even less."

Camille shook her head ruefully. "That's not true," she said. "You're one of Skyla's best friends. Closest confidants. As far as I can gather, she wouldn't have carried on if it wasn't for you. You're not just 'the Tinker' Master_ Anwar_."

He looked at her sharply and shook his head in a reprimanding fashion. "You use that name too idly," he said. "I have left it behind me."  
Jade crossed her arms and frowned at him. "When you came back from the Flightless Realm?" she queried sharply. "What happened there? Why did everything change then?"

"Does it have anything to do with Joanie's Feather?" Camille added.

Her question seemed to startle the Tinker as he sat back then glared at the two of them. "Why did you two come here?" he asked. "What's the meaning of all these questions?"

Jade stood up suddenly, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Because we want to know!" she snapped. "We want to know what happened to Skyla and why _we_, her Sky Dancers can't save her but Joanie can. We want to know why Joanie's to be the next queen even if she's not Skyla's real daughter. We want to know why you refuse to help Faolin stand up against seemingly the whole council. We want to know why Joanie's Feather mysteriously appeared by your hand and by the love for life, we want to know if there's any hope _any hope_ that Skyla will return."

There were tears once again just brimming behind her eyes, but Jade managed to fight them down and had the grace to blush over her tirade. She sat down embarrassed, waving Camille away who had stood up to give her a hug. "We just want to know," she whispered softly, rubbing at her eyes. "Please Master Tinker."

The Tinker looked at her for a very long time, seemingly turning inside himself. With clouded grey eyes he stood up finally and went into the kitchen. "Let me make some tea," he said softly. "This might take a while…"

&

It was, once again, well past sunset when they finally stopped.

The Horse landed carefully on a rocky clearing at the foot of the mountain. Joanie wasn't sure whether it was from the rough stones or his weariness but he stumbled twice when they landed. Joanie, who had been pitched forward, grimaced and touched her side gingerly. She had been sitting in the same position for too long and sure enough, could feel a renewed dampness behind her bandages. She sighed softly and touched the Horse's neck.  
"I'll walk," she said softly. "I'm totally and completely stiff."

The Horse didn't stop walking immediately but rather turned back and briefly glanced at her before continuing to pick his way across the rocky clearing. "How are your injuries?"  
Joanie barked a laugh and shook her head. "Better than you are, I bet," she said. "Please stop, I need to walk."

The Horse snorted a laugh and tossed his head amused. "Lean back a bit," he said. "And hold on."

Baffled, Joanie did as he instructed and was mildly surprised and alarmed when he carefully bowed down on his forelegs. She held on as tight as she could until his chest was just inches off of the ground. "Hop down," he instructed her. "It will be easier and gentler."

Joanie smiled slightly and carefully manoeuvred off of his back. "Better than dumping me in a tree most certainly," she said with her tongue in her cheek. It hurt to stand and she had to steady herself against his neck for a moment when he stood up. "I have to ask, why did you do it? You really could've just put me on the ground."

She was a little bit irritated to notice that he didn't even seem ashamed as he carefully started walking, making sure to keep stride with her limping pace.  
"It would've been to easy Silver Feather," he said simply. "You would not have shown your true worth."

Joanie grimaced because she was too tired to smile. "I wouldn't have been worth anything dead you know."

He didn't comment, but very deliberately flicked his tail.  
"I won't be able to take you any further," he said rather. "I'm afraid you have to finish the rest of the journey yourself Joanie-Ellen."

Feeling dismayed and a little bit frightened Joanie bit her lip and nodded. "How far will I go?" she asked. "Where to? Where will you stay?"

The Horse snorted an amused laugh. "We'll stay at the bottom of the mountain for the night," he pointed out. "Tomorrow morning you'll have to take the trail up to the mouth of the cave. We're at the foot of the main mountain and it is quite a good way up so you'll have to pace yourself Joanie-Ellen. Running up won't do you any good. I'll show you when it is light, but you can spot your destination quite easily. Just aim for the head of the dragon silhouette."

Joanie nodded determined. "What will I have to do when I get there?"

The Horse was very quiet for a long time but Joanie knew better than to coach an answer out of him. Waiting patiently, she concentrated on keeping her footing in the dark and avoid any of the loose stones that threatened to trip her.

They continued walking until they reached a patchy piece of grass lawn next to a dark pool. It was too dark for her to see the details of her surroundings but she noticed for the first time, particularly when he waded into the dark pool for a drink, that the Horse was so white that he seemed to glow in the dark.

She sighed and sank down to the ground, stretching her legs painfully and carefully lying down on her back. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes but only kept them closed for a moment, lest she fell asleep. She listened to the Horse as he came out of the water and came to graze close beside her. She herself didn't have the energy to eat. When she heard him stop suddenly she looked up to find him staring down at her.  
"You will only have to be yourself when you go up the mountain," he said softly. "And, just make it into the cave. Now, eat Joanie-Ellen and rest. Tomorrow will be a long day for you…"

&

To Be Continued…


	17. The Path Taken

**Chapter 17: The Path Taken. **

The young girl with her short hair and short stature carefully crawled out from underneath the majestic horse's wing. The sky was light, even though dawn was an hour or two away. She struggled rising to her feet, pressing her hand against her side with a tight look of pain as she straightened herself. Taking a moment to collect herself she looked around the desolate landscape with its sharp rocks and sparse foliage. It was so different from the wingdom, she thought then carefully glanced at her companion. He was still asleep to her relief, his head bowed ever so slightly.

It was the humblest he had ever looked.

Looking at the ground she noticed how much it had dewed in the night and how his wing had protected her from the most of it. Unbidden, she took a breath to wake him but stopped herself and shook her head.

"Thank you," she whispered softly to his sleeping form. "Thank you for bringing me. I know that I should wait for you to show me the way, but… but it's time I carry on - on my own. I can't wait anymore. Thank you, Lord of the Flightless Realm. Thank you very much."

Although he was asleep, she closed her eyes and bowed to him as deeply as she could manage. Then, turning around, she searched the broken landscape for the path he had told her about. It was barely visible, but it appeared to be the only one.

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the journey ahead, Joanie-Ellen Zavere picked up her travelling bag and determinedly started walking in the direction of the mouth of the great crystal dragon.

&

"So," Slam said, leaning back to run his hands through his hair. "You're telling me that the Tinker knew that we went back into time? That he knew this all this time?"

Camille looked at Slam as if he was missing the whole point of the discussion but Jade gave him an appreciative look and nodded before turning to the other Sky Dancers seated around the breakfast table. "He didn't say it in so many words," she offered, "but yes. He didn't know it was us until Joanie arrived. You see…" she hesitated and leaned forward. "Do you remember what we had discussed when we came back? How it seemed as if we were meant to have gone back in time. That Angelica's 'accident' merely provided a conduit through which things could happen as they should."

Breeze was the first to nod as he too sat back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We never spoke about it again," he said and hesitated, "I think it was a mistake."

His friends frowned at him. "What?" Camille queried. "Going or not talking about it?"

"Never talking about it," Breeze said quickly. "I've been thinking about it a lot you guys. It…" he paused and shook his head. "Carry on Jade, please."

Slam shook his head sharply, cutting Jade off. "I don't think there was anything to discuss dude," he said. "What happened, happened. We couldn't change it, we had no control."

Jade nodded in affirmation and leaned forward, pushing her uneaten breakfast away from her. "I have to agree with Slam Breeze," she said. "Firstly, discussing it would've brought us nowhere. The loop that time formed there… It's just too big for us to wrap our minds around. The Tinker's proof of it. He said that the very first day Skyla brought Joanie in to him, she had told him that she somehow recognized her. Or, that she had felt as if she had seen her before. He had not thought anything of it at that time, I mean, if you remember she looked pretty bad at that time. But, when things settled and she started looking healthier he had a closer look at her and realized that he felt the same. He also remembered that he had felt the same when he saw us for the very first time. Now," Jade made a quick motion with her hand. "He didn't really comment on that itself, but rather he spoke of when he was younger he had been inspired to go and travel into the realms beyond the Sky Realm by six youths who had mysteriously appeared in their midst to save Skyla only to leave again – with the help of the Skyswirlstone – to which ever Realm they came from. He had thought that they came from a Realm of Flight just beyond the Flightless Realm and, after Skyla and Skyler's marriage, set off on a journey to find it." She glanced at Camille to see if she wanted to continue with the conversation.  
The African American girl nodded ever so slightly and spoke quickly. "He wasn't very forth coming on what he found there," she said. "I mean, I don't think he wanted to tell us anything really. But, he did tell us that that was where he was _given_ the Silver Feather."  
"Given?" Angelica queried. "By whom?"

Jade snorted. "He was even _less_ forthcoming on that," she said. "It was given to him as a sort of promise to an alliance. This, he said, was quite an amazing offer because the different realms had precious little to do with each other. He said that when it became apparent that Joanie was going to stay with us, he knew that she was the person to give it to."

Angelica didn't seem satisfied as she shook her head sharply. "This doesn't tell us anything Jade," she said. "I mean, yes fine, Joanie's feather comes from the Flightless Realm. That's strange, I get that, but how does that help her reach Skyla? Why is she the only one who can save her?"

Camille held a hand in Angelica's direction to cut off her questions. "Because the person who gave the Silver Feather to the Tinker will only help Joanie," she pointed out. "The Tinker gave us the impression that it was meant for Joanie to go to the Flightless Realm ever since she was presented with the feather. Skyla doesn't know where the feather came from by the way. She just thought that it's a valuable trinket the Tinker's had in his possession."

The table was very quiet for a moment. Finally, Breeze sat forward, looking very calculating.  
"What's her chances?" he asked. "Will Joanie be able to bring Skyla back?"  
Camille and Jade looked at each other and grimaced. "That depends entirely on her he said," Camille said. "He said that if Joanie is herself, if she stays true to the love she had shown to Skyla time and time again, then yes. She'll do it. If not… Well. The chance is there that we'll never see her again."

&

She thought about a lot of things as she hiked up the mountain. At first, all she could think about was the Horse and how he had helped her despite originally almost killing her. She thought of how he had forced her to bow to him, yet afterwards bowed to her so freely. She thought of his grace and the loyalty he seemed to have in his followers. She envied him in a strange way, but also wished that she would never be like him. When she lost her way twice, she thought of Dame Skyla and tried to imagine how happy the woman would be to see her and later, when she sat down, exhausted and in pain, she thought of her years on the street and how much her life had changed.

Her thoughts seemed to stretch further and deeper as far as she went, sometimes maintaining a comfortable pace, other times stumbling – barely able to keep her footing. They seemed to touch everybody that she had ever known and their influence in her life. She thought of the social workers that had tried to place her in good and bad homes alike and of her foster parents, most of whom had faded to mere faces in her memory. Finally, long past midday after she had sat down to try and remove the bandages that strapped her immobile arm to her body, her thoughts drifted to her unknown parents and why she could possibly have been so much trouble for them to abandon her. She had never felt abandoned before but there on the mountain, alone and tired – the feeling just washed over her.

Joanie closed her eyes and leaned back against the rock she had propped herself up against. She had hoped that if she could loosen her one arm her balance would be better but Urla had done a terribly good job at making sure it would stay secure. She let out a frustrated breath and ran her hand through her matted hair. Although it was by no means warm, she was covered in sweat.

"I didn't deserve this," she told the unknown eyes of her parents. "You'd think that after all I've been through fate would leave me alone or at least be kind. I didn't deserve this."

The Horse had taught her that it had nothing to do with deserving something though. Things just… happened. Life was unfair, but that generally seemed to be the theme of it.  
Joanie shook her head and opened her eyes. There was a dry broken tree a few yards from her. She figured that if she wanted to find a walking stick that would be the best place to search for one. Grinding her teeth she swallowed and pushed herself up again, ignoring her body as best as she could. She couldn't imagine that she had that much further to go. The path had taken her to completely the other side of the mountain, always climbing steadily. None the less, it had always seemed to keep her relatively in line with the opening.

Joanie having scratched around for a bit found a wrist thick branch strong enough to lean on. It was relatively straight and for a moment she was reminded of the magicians and the staffs that they carried. She wondered whether the Lady Oriana was still alive. She had only been a few years older than Skyla, but Joanie suspected that the death of her father hit her very hard. She wouldn't be surprised if the woman had committed suicide. She felt a pang of sadness as she steadied herself on the stick, she hoped that that was not the way the woman's life had run.

Trying to keep that hope and wish inside her – using it to keep her thoughts away from their previous dark paths, Joanie carried on carefully.  
She reached a wide open passage leading to the mouth of the cave sooner than she anticipated, but much later than she had hoped to reach the entrance. Joanie felt terribly daunted as she looked in front of her, seemingly staring down the blue crystal dragon's throat. Looking up, she could see the two holes that might've been mistaken for nostrils. Instead of fangs though, two pillars distended from where the dragon's canines would've been. It looked as if someone had used them to prop open the dragon's mouth. Joanie bit her lip and turned around briefly to look at the view around her. From here, she could see the glade where she and the Horse had slept though she was too far to see if the Horse himself was still there. The landscape was depressingly barren beyond that. The trees that she saw were like the one she had picked her walking stick up from, twisted and dry – mostly dead. The only difference in colour seemed to originate from the random patches of scattered crystals the Horse had pointed out to her. She grimaced and rubbed her sweaty brow.

"This is not a happy place," she whispered and turned to the mouth of the cave giving it a sceptic look. The Horse had told her that all she needed to do was enter it. She regretted leaving so early suddenly, wondering whether he might've given her some more instructions. It was hardly likely though, he was quite secretive.

Sniffing, she took a steadying breath and walked forward determinedly, unsure of what she would find in the cave. Passing through the pillars she stopped short suddenly when she heard a cracking sound. Turning around, Joanie was just in time to see the two pillars break in half. Her eyes widened in horror as they started toppling forward and, with a yelp, she quickly jumped forward. The blue crystal pillars shattered when they hit the ground, but strangely enough none of the bits hit her legs. Instead, the tiny pieces that had shattered away started to slowly roll towards the larger heap. Joanie gripped her walking stick tightly as she watched with horrified fascination. It didn't take a lot of contemplation from her side to realize that this was not good. She made to run forward and jump over the shattered pieces but they had started to pile up on top of each other and became too high for her to jump over without her wings. Desperately wishing that her other arm was free Joanie backed away as the crystals formed two large figures in front of her. Realizing that they were going to block her from the entrance she quickly tried to run around the side. Even if she had been faster, she wouldn't have made it. Coming round the side, Joanie only had seconds to react when a large crystal bar tried to sweep her off her feet. Still encumbered by her walking stick, Joanie hugged it horizontally to her chest and dove forward, rolling to get back to her feet. Her injuries protested painfully but Joanie pushed everything to the back of her mind and quickly looked around for her assailant. Both of the figures seemed to have formed as far as they would. They didn't have any clear features, but despite their awkward build she could see that they were moving very fast. One was wielding a rod, the other something that appeared to be a sword.  
Joanie blinked at them for a second in pure frozen fear.  
"Shit," she whispered. "Bloody…" She urged herself to start moving again, all the while thinking that she should've taken that lessons Captain Briar had offered her. Clumsily, she tried to bring her walking stick up as some sort of a shield but she knew that without any training, she would be no match for these creatures. Nor, for that matter, would a piece of dry twig be any match against those crystal weapons.

None the less, Joanie knew about fighting, even if she didn't know anything about fighting a quarterstaff or sword. She had been in her fair share of street fights and the golden rule was to always keep moving. In her mind it had always been to run as far as fast as she could at the first opportunity but she wasn't going to do that here. Not now, not today.

"I mean no harm!" she yelled at the crystal figures as they advanced towards her with a speed that belied their clumsy appearance. "I just want to save my mother!"

At first they seemed to pay her no heed. Joanie, moving about as quickly as she could and trying hard to stay out of striking distance got the impression that they were trying to surround her. She dodged another blow in her direction and managed to bring her walking stick in the path of another. As she suspected, it proved to be no match for their weapons and shattered on impact. The only thing that saved her was the fact that she threw herself to the ground, the long staff passing inches from her head. Joanie winched when she felt the wind lift her hairs from her head. She gripped a handful of dirt and quickly turned her head just in time to see the creature march towards her. Grinding her teeth she rolled out of its way and jumped up. She had not paid attention to where she rolled and had come up almost underneath the other one.

It felt as if she slowly turned to look at her reflection in the creature's crystal chest. She looked up to see it raise it's sword up to impale her against it. Joanie blinked for the first time in ages and took a short breath. She tensed her whole body and, as the sword came down, let out her breath and quickly jumped to the side.

The world sped up again when Joanie heard a strange sound much like breaking glass as the creature's own sword impaled itself in its chest. It staggered and Joanie, seeing her chance, threw her whole weight against it, causing it to topple over and smash to the ground. Unable to help herself she let out a loud whoop of victory as the crystals scattered all over the place but her victory was short celebrated when she remembered the other one. She turned to face it quickly, but found to her amazement that it was just standing motionless now, blindly staring at her with its eyeless face.

She swallowed and carefully stepped away from the other crystals, looking around for a piece of crystal she might use as weapon if it decided to charge or attack her.

"_Physical stamina and need is not enough." _

The voice echoed around her, causing her to bounce and look around startled. It was a hollow sound, without clear words or accentuation. "Where are you?" she whispered.  
The voice continued and this time she could hear that it was definitively coming from the creature.

"_Being willing to fight for someone is only one part. You fight for the physical and the visual, but what about the heart?" _

Joanie gave the creature an uncertain look and picked up a rock for good measure. She knew that throwing it with it wouldn't help one bit but it made her feel better holding something.  
"I don't know what you're taking about," she whispered. "I fought because you attacked me…"  
_"You fought me to get to your loved one."  
_Joanie clenched the rock harder. "You are an obstacle." She wasn't sure if the creature had actually heard her when it continued without replying to her.  
_"How can you fight for the heart without knowing it? How can the heart deserve such valour?"  
_Joanie sniffed and tossed the rock at the creature's feet. "Skyla's heart is the most pure I've ever seen," she said and realized suddenly that the cave's mouth was behind her. Her heart lifted with hope, she could run towards it…

"_The heart shown is not the heart carried, the mind spoken is not the mind thought. Can you face this heart and mind again? Knowing its sins? Does this heart deserve to be saved?"_

She started to carefully inch towards it, carefully shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"_Can you face the person if you see…" _

Joanie didn't pay any attention to the rest of what was said as she turned around as quickly as she could and ran towards the entrance. She was just about to celebrate her escape when something hit her behind the head. There was strangely no pain though, but it was a strong enough force to knock her off her feet. Joanie gasped and brought her one free arm up to shield her face as she stumbled into the darkness of the cave.

&

_AN: Alright, for the first time in a while I have something sensible to say! Or announce anyway. I managed to get my hands on a pc copy of the sky dancers episode Time and Again (the episode which I had thought that I based Time Walk Dance on). With all of you in mind, most of whom have probably not seen a sky dancers episode in years, I uploaded it in you tube. You can find it by just searching my penname on there. AlyssC01 is the standard name that I use everywhere. Enjoy and drop a comment if you've watched it! I'll have to change my AN to Time walk dance as I have to say I remembered that episode completely wrong!!  
Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Have a great day.  
Alyss_


	18. Three Steps to the Other Side

**Chapter 18: Three Steps to the Other Side **

Joanie gasped and brought her one free arm up to shield her face as she stumbled into the darkness of the cave. She landed hard and expected her injuries to explode in pain. Instead though, she actually felt better, her pain gone. Joanie lay very still with her eyes closed, trying to catch her breath. She became aware of other sensations. A soft carpet underneath her cheek, the smell of dust lingering above a stronger smell of perfume. _Familiar_ perfume and…

Footsteps leading away from her.

Joanie's eyes shot open as she pushed herself up. Looking around surprised she couldn't believe where she was. There was no mistaking it. The open balcony, the high, decorated ceiling. The wide bed and the music boxes on the dresser…  
_This was Skyla's room!_

She let out a whoop of delight and jumped up. Maybe she had broken the curse, maybe…  
"Dame Skyla!" she called. "Queen Skyla?"

The footsteps she had heard came back from the balcony. Dame Skyla stepped back into the room, her head bowed deep in thought. Joanie could only stare at her for a moment. _It was her… It was…_  
She frowned suddenly and took a step forward. "Dame Skyla?"  
It was Skyla, she was sure of it but she was thinner, her face troubled and gaunt. And, she wore complete black. Her dress, her shoes, her gloves. Everything was black.

Joanie licked her lips and cleared her throat; she had never seen her adopted mother in black before. "Dame Skyla?"

The woman didn't appear to notice her but walked to the bed and stared at it for a moment. Sighing, she turned around and walked back to the balcony, the Skyswirlstone winking on one of her black gloves.  
The sight of it made Joanie's blood run cold. She patted her pocket quickly and discovered that she still had _her_ stone. She also realized for the first time that her arm was unbound and her side unhurt. If it wasn't for the stone, she would've thought that her whole excursion to the Flightless Realm had been a dream.

Patting her body puzzled, Joanie ran forward to the woman and tried to grab her arm. Her hand passed straight through Skyla's body.

Joanie experienced a nauseating moment in which she could only stare at her hand before she shut her eyes and swallowed down the bile forming in her throat. _She was not going to throw up!_  
"Dame Skyla!" she tried again. "Queen Skyla?"  
Her second call was echoed by another as the door opened behind her. Joanie whipped around to see Lady Faolin cautiously enter the room. Or, it looked like Faolin only she looked younger. Joanie frowned at her for a moment then looked back at Skyla who had turned around to look at the woman. She squinted at her features and decided that she too looked a little bit younger though it was hard to tell because her face was so gaunt.  
Skyla looked at the woman for a while before she closed her eyes and continued to the balcony. "What do you want Faolin?"  
The councilwoman entered the room cautiously and closed the door behind her.  
"I just want to see if you're alright," she said softly. "You've…"  
Joanie didn't recognize the bitterness in Skyla's eyes and it scared her. It was as foreign as her dark attire. "Been alone all day?" the queen finished Faolin's sentence. "Come to see if I've committed suicide?"

Her voice scared Joanie even more. It was cold, harsh and empty. _Who was this woman?_

Faolin blinked and frowned as she took a forceful step forward.  
"Of course not," she snapped. "I've come to see if you are alright, if you've eaten, if you've had a bath. If you've slept at all since yesterday. If you need some conversation. I'm not on death watch."

Skyla snorted and leaned against the balcony door. "The Tinker has been," she said tiredly. "I'm surprised he's finally decided to leave me alone."

Faolin sniffed and walked to the queen. Joanie, watching Skyla, didn't get out of the way quick enough and experienced a sickening moment when Faolin walked through her. She too, didn't notice her.  
"I told him to," she said shortly. "You need time… to yourself. It's been two weeks."

The queen's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, though not in anger. "Two weeks?" she murmured to herself. "It feels like a lifetime." Her voice became stronger, dryer. "If you believe I need time to myself, why are _you_ here?"

Faolin smiled, undeterred by the woman's tone. "Old habits die hard," she said and carefully touched the other woman's shoulder. "And, I need to know that you're alright."

Joanie, still standing back, flinched when Skyla rounded on the woman, slapping her hand away from her.  
"My husband's dead!" she snapped. "How can I be alright?"

Faolin didn't flinch but calmly folded her hands in front of her. She watched Skyla with a kind patience in her eyes. The queen closed her eyes, embarrassed by her behaviour and her outburst. Biting her lip she turned away from Faolin.  
"There's no need to check up on me Faolin," she said softly in a strained voice. "I won't commit suicide just because my husband got killed by his own brother and you're not my Lady-in-Waiting anymore. You have no reason to be here."  
Her words actually seemed to hurt Faolin more than her previous actions had. The pale haired woman flinched, biting her tongue. After some consideration she turned away slowly and took a step into the room.  
"I might not be," she said softly. "But I am still your friend Skyla. No matter how you feel at the moment. The love that you and Skyler had, was… amazing. But, you shouldn't let it destroy you. He wouldn't want that, that's not what your love had been about."

If her words touched the grief stricken queen she didn't show it.

"How would you know Faolin?" she asked instead, her voice dangerously bitter. "You've never loved anybody. Not really."

She didn't turn around to see the look of anguish filter across Faolin's features but Joanie, frozen by what she had heard, had a clear view of her. The councilwoman visibly struggled to compose herself as her hand clutched her dress in front of her chest. With marked effort she took a few deep breaths and steeled herself before she spoke again.  
"I have Skyla," she said softly. "And that's why it hurts even more, seeing you like this." She sighed and turned around. "I'll come back with tea later. No arguments. You won't get rid of your friends this easily."

She went to the door but looked back once to see that the queen had still not turned around. Joanie took a step in the councilwoman's direction, wishing that she could comfort her somehow but she knew that it was useless. When Faolin closed the door Joanie rounded on the other woman.

"How could you do that to her?" she snapped angrily, not caring if Skyla didn't hear her. "The woman's your friend! She cares about you and you just… You just… You almost kicked her out of here like a dog! I'm surprised she didn't leave the wingdom!" She marched to the balcony so that she could look at Skyla's face. It made her even angrier seeing that the woman's face had not changed at all, that she was merely calmly staring in front of her.  
Joanie kicked her on the knee, not caring that her foot passed right through her. "You told me in the beginning, when I was acting up against everybody, that I shouldn't do it because they didn't deserve to be treated the way I treated them," she wished that the woman could hear her. "But… But you did exactly the same! Faolin didn't deserve that damn it! She's grieving too, can't you see that?!"

It was like shouting at a ghost. Glaring at Skyla, but knowing that her words went unheard Joanie sighed and moved away from her. She sat down by the balcony railing, still watching the silent woman.  
_Is this what Skyla's grief had done to her?_ She thought to herself, touching her side again to make sure that her injuries hadn't suddenly reappeared. _Is this the past? Only – this time I'm a spectator instead of a player?_

She stared up into the woman's hardening features wishing that somehow, someway Skyla could see her. "I don't get it," Joanie said miserably. "I don't know what this is…"

Skyla sighed and looked down to the Skyswirlstone, reaching some sort of internal decision. Joanie stood up quickly and moved out of her way when Skyla stepped forward and flew up. Not knowing what else to do, Joanie flew up and followed her.

&

They went to a part of the palace that Joanie recognized as the part where the council chambers were as well as most of the offices. Especially in the beginning, before she had gotten her Silver Feather, she had spent quite a lot of time there when Skyla brought her to the wingdom. For a moment, she thought that Skyla might have come here to search out Faolin and apologize to her but she was wrong. Instead, Skyla went into an office on the far side of the building. Joanie didn't need to think about it long to decide that this was her husband's. It had a distinct male air in it, a feeling that she couldn't describe. The colours were darker than Skyla's own, the space more cluttered. If it hadn't been for that though she would've known it was Skyler's just by the way that Skyla acted.

She had entered it hesitantly as if she was doing something she really didn't want to do. Then, once inside the room with the door firmly locked behind her, she stood in the middle of the carpet and looked around her.  
Joanie felt a moment of pity for the grieving woman as her eyes filled with tears. Skyla looked around her, then carefully made her way to the cloak rack and buried her face in one of the cloaks there. She caressed the fabric as one would a lover then wrapped it around her and went to her husband's desk. Joanie's scalp prickled with the creeps when she realized that this room looked as if the man had just stepped out. Even the last cup that he must've used was still on the table, empty and unwashed. Skyla went to a series of large scrolls behind the desk and carefully, as not to disturb too much of the order in the room, went through them, occasionally drawing one out and inspecting its seal.

Joanie had a sudden idea and also approached the table. She tried to pick up a quill to write to the woman but vexingly, she couldn't seem to grip it. Growling in frustration, Joanie kicked at the chair. It didn't move, or make a sound when her foot connected with it. But, as if she had kicked a wall, her foot exploded in pain. Yelping, Joanie bounced up and down for a moment, cursing her stupidity.  
She turned to the woman and glared at her. "You must've heard that," she said. "My grandchildren felt _that_."

The woman was still oblivious to her company, but seemed to have found what she was looking for and carefully took out one of the large scrolls. Joanie moved so that she could look at it when Skyla carefully spread it open on the table. It wasn't a scroll she realized suddenly, but a map. As Skyla traced an invisible route with her finger Joanie tried to figure out where it was but the territory seemed relatively unknown.  
"You shouldn't go there."  
Both Joanie and Skyla jumped at the voice. Instinctively Joanie tried to move in between Skyla and the voice but all she got for her effort was another sickening moment where she passed through the woman's body.  
Skyla's eyes narrowed as she stepped back and crossed her arms.  
"Nobody is to enter this room," she said. "What are you doing here?"

The Tinker stepped in from the balcony, his eyes kind yet sadder than Joanie had ever seen them. On second thought though, she remembered as her stomach went cold, he had had that same light in his eyes when he had told them that Skyla was cursed and gone for good.  
"I should ask you the same thing my Queen," he said softly. "Coming here won't help." He motioned towards the map and frowned. "And neither will _she._"

Skyla snatched up the map and quickly rolled it back up. "Their race is legendary for their ability to travel between dimensions," she said coldly. "She has to."

The Tinker shook his head sadly and tried to step forward. "Skyla," he said his tone as insistent as if he was talking to a child. "She won't help you. Oriana is… mad. Her grief over loosing her father and her race drove her to a place in her mind where people with her kind of powers shouldn't go. And, on top of that madness, she has to live by a set of rules. Trust me; she won't be able to help you."

Skyla slammed her fist down on the table with surprising force. "She has to!" she yelled at the Tinker. Joanie, who had been standing quite close to her winched and moved away. She didn't think that she had the stomach to witness another verbal exchange as she had seen between Faolin and Skyla. "My husband gave her sanctuary," Skyla continued coldly. "Even after her father kidnapped me and was almost responsible for our deaths. I could never understand why but he maintained her, made sure that she always understood that she was welcome in this court. She has to help me to repay him for his kindness! And she can!"

The Tinker sighed and rubbed his brow. "I think, with recent events in mind," the Tinker said slowly, "that it's safe to assume now that Skyclone had been behind it all as was suspected then. I know if for a fact Skyla. Remember young Cara? She had spoken the truth."

Both Skyla and Joanie flinched at the mention of the name that she had used when they had gone back in time. Skyla ran her hand over the table and shook her head.  
"She's proven to be as unreliable as Skyclone has," Skyla said bitterly. "She promised to come back and she didn't. People have a habit of just leaving."  
The Tinker shook his head with a small smile and took another step closer to the queen as if he was afraid that she might run.  
"She didn't promise to come back your Highness," he said kindly. "She had just said that you will see her again. That might still happen one day you know."

Skyla snorted and shook her head. She slipped the map into a fold in the cloak and stepped around the table. Joanie moved out of her way just in time.

"That doesn't matter," she said. "I don't care if I never see her again. I had been a child at the time, and so had she. I only care about one thing right now _Anwar_ and that is getting my husband back."

If the Tinker had tried to take her mind away from her quest he had failed terribly. With a desperate look the man quickly moved to intercept Skyla by the window.  
"You won't be able to get him back through her Skyla," he said. "Please, let yourself grieve, but then come back to yourself. You have a kingdom and people who depend on you. You are their only hope now Skyla. The royal family is gone, you are the only one left."

"It is not by choice!"

Again, Joanie flinched as Skyla shouted at the Tinker, the emotion in her voice enough to bring tears to the young girl's eyes. She realized suddenly that she hated this Skyla, hated to see her in so much pain and hated to hear her shout even more.

_This can't be my mother._  
"It's not by choice," Skyla repeated softly, bitterly. "I didn't want to be next in line to the Skyswirlstone, much less rule the country on my own. I don't even want to survive my husband but he had made me promise _promise_ to take care of the kingdom no matter what happened. It was always as if he bloody knew that he was going to leave me!" Skyla swallowed sudden tears and bit her lip hard. When the Tinker moved forward to comfort her she moved away from him and went to the window. Joanie thought that she would just fly out but she paused and turned back to the Tinker.  
"I have to know that I tried everything within my power to get him back," she said monotonously. "If I don't then I won't be able to carry on."

The Tinker didn't step closer to her but his eyes were very sad when he regarded her. "Oriana's not the answer," he said. "She really is mad Skyla and she won't and can't help you. The rules of her life forbid it. This is not her problem."

Skyla's eyes were as cold as her words when she spread her wings to leave. "If she doesn't help me," she said softly. "I will make it hers."

She left and Joanie, upset and horrified by what she was seeing, had no choice but to follow.

&

Judging by the distance on the map, the journey should've taken them a lot longer. Yet, to Joanie it felt as if very little time had passed before they reached a mountainous part of the wingdom she had never been to. It wasn't like the desolate mountains of the Flightless Realm but rather warm sandstone rocks and boulders seemingly distributed among mounds to large to be hills but somehow just too small to be seen as mountains. They flew until Joanie spotted a small thatched roofed cottage tucked in between to sheltering boulders. Skyla flew down and landed by the door with Joanie close on her heels. The little Sky Dancer took the moment in which Skyla knocked to quickly take in her surroundings. Even use to flying in the sky, Joanie was daunted by the feeling of space that the cottage's view allowed. The world just seemed to stretch out from its doorstep, beyond the Sky Realm to mountains she was almost sure was in the Flightless Realm. _One can go crazy with a view like this,_ she thought alarmed. _All this space… it can suck out your mind._

Sniffing she turned to see Skyla beat the door once more before she sank down on the front step, frustrated and angry.  
"She's not here," she heard the woman whisper frustrated. "Damned it, where can she be?"

From where she was standing, Joanie saw the movement first. A white haired woman stood up on one of the boulders and squinted down, a flash of purple winking in the sunlight. She studied Skyla for a moment, then laughed in delight and started making her way down. Her laugh alerted the Sky Queen to her presence. Skyla looked up and watched the woman as she descended down a small path etched into the boulder.  
"I had been wondering if I'll see you," she said in a satisfied tone. "A promise of the world beyond…" She smiled then frowned when she had Skyla in clear sights. "Heaven's woman," she said shocked. "You're madder than I am. And, I can tell you – that takes a lot." She giggled.

Skyla pushed herself to her feet, balling her fists in anger but Joanie could only stare at the newcomer, shocked by what she saw.  
She recognized the Lady Oriana, the young sorceress whom Skyclone had used to force her father into kidnapping Skyla. No one else could have purple eyes that were that intense and she doubted that anybody else would carry a magician's staff with a purple stone in it. Yet, her hair – instead of the raven black that Joanie remember had gone stark white except for a single purple streak that hung to the left of her face. She couldn't have been that much older than Skyla, a few years at most – yet if one only considered her hair, it looked like decades.

And, with a deep feeling of pity, Joanie realized that the Tinker was right. This woman was mad. It clung to her skeletal frame like the old, dusty robes that she wore and the lines by her eyes. It was stretched over her thin smile and stabbed behind her sharp eyes. Joanie took a step forward but stopped herself just in time, remembering that nobody could see or hear her.  
Skyla too took a step forward and visibly took control of her emotions.  
"Lady Oriana," she said with a respectful bow. "You've… heard of my husband?"

The woman laughed and pushed past the sky queen to open her door. "Years ago," she said in a matter of fact voice. "Yet you were oblivious to the fact that you married a dead man until two weeks ago." She seemed to want to giggle again, but reason returned to her and, before she entered the hut she turned to Skyla and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, my queen," she said – her voice sincere. "I know that you loved him very much."

Skyla was frowning at her, trying to puzzle out her words. Oriana looked at her and sighed. Touching the woman's cheek she went into her cottage, resting her staff by the door. Joanie, not quite believing what she was doing, took a deep breath and jumped through the stationary Skyla so that she could see the inside of the cottage. She didn't have the patience to wait for Skyla to snap out of her reverie.  
The cottage was less maintained than she had thought it would be. Considering that it was the last of the magician's home, it was pretty shabby. It was filled by all manner of things, remnants of a destroyed realm. Joanie didn't care much for books, but even she could feel the worth of all the dusty volumes on the bookstands that stood against almost every wall. She turned around the room then glanced at the sorceress's staff and with a touch of fascination realized that her father's was resting by the door as well. She reached out to touch it, remembering how the woman had offered to her.

"Come in or stay out."  
The snap made her retract her hand quickly and look around guiltily. Oriana had come back from the room she had entered, carrying a tray with two cups on. "I'm making some tea; you've had a pretty long journey." She sniffed and made a sharp gesture in the staff's direction as she disappeared back into what must've been the kitchen. "And _don't_ touch _anything_."  
If Joanie didn't know any better she would've thought that it was directed at her. None the less, she put her hands behind her back and stepped out of the way before Skyla could walk through her into the room. The queen blinked and stepped into the room quickly.

"What did you mean?" she asked surprised. "That… that you've known for years that my husband was going to die."

Oriana made a distracted sound as she came in with a kettle that started boiling in her hands as she walked. "Oh, he told me," she said absentmindedly. "You're lucky you arrived when you did, it means that you get fresh bread. A novelty you can't begin to comprehend, I normally burn it. But, right moment, right timing. For some anyway." She giggled again and went back into the kitchen.  
Skyla blinked at her then followed her quickly. "What do you mean?" she queried. "How could he have told you?"

Oriana smiled as she pulled a loaf of bread from a box on the fireplace and brought it over to the kitchen counter – not caring if it burned her hands or not. "Oh, he came here often," said with a smile. "Didn't he tell you? He didn't just send supplies you know."

Joanie could see that the news surprised Skyla. The woman clenched her jaw, watching the sorceress as she broke the bread into pieces.  
"Why?"

Oriana laughed - her tones suspiciously seductive. "Maybe to sleep with me," she said. "A lady never tells you know." Her words hit Skyla like a physical blow and even Joanie felt a wave of anger directed towards the sorceress. "Don't play with her like that!" she snapped.  
The young woman giggled then sobered up and sighed deeply. "No, dear Skyla," her tones were tired suddenly as they lost their seductive edge. "Your husband didn't come here to share my bed. Even if…" her eyes grew darker, as if she carried a deep self loathing for herself, "I tried to get him there in one of my more… Lonely moments." She sighed again. "They are not me you must understand. I can't always control it. I wish I could, but I can't. Insanity grows, like loneliness." Her eyes pleaded with the shocked queen as she met her gaze, picking up the tray of bread as she did so, along with a plate of butter. "Forgive me."

It was a deep, sincere plea.

Skyla closed her eyes and shook her head, more to herself than in a gesture of denial.  
"Why did my husband come here?" she asked and moved to the table where the tea was.

Oriana brought the tray to the table and sat down on the opposite side of the queen. Her eyes were tired as she regarded her. She poured a cup of tea for herself and pulled the bread closer, spreading some butter on it with a spoon she had brought out with the tea.  
"To talk mostly," Oriana said as she spread the butter. "There's no jam I'm afraid and I've used the last of my milk in the bread. It's milk a cow or go without in these parts."

Skyla didn't touch the bread or tea but kept her gaze fixed on the sorceress. "Talk about what?" she asked coldly. "How could he have told you about his death? How?"

The sorceress chewed thoughtfully as she sat back and made a round gesture in the air.  
"Your husband was quite obsessed with time," she said. "He wanted to understand the layers in it, the circles. I had knowledge to my disposal that he couldn't find in your library. You should have some bread, it won't be hot forever and I think that you haven't eaten in days. There was a war in your kingdom you know."

Because she had somehow anticipated it Joanie didn't flinch when Skyla's hand slammed down on the table.  
"I know!" The queen snapped. "Damn you, my husband's gone because of it! How did he know that he was going to… Die? How?"

Oriana sighed and absently brushed the crumbs from her robes. "I can't tell you," she said simply and held up her hand as Skyla started to protest. "And, before you ask, I can't help you bring him back either. I won't even try."

Skyla stood up shocked, causing her chair to fall back. "Why?" she asked. "You can! The death spin, it's supposed to trap who ever enters it in an eternal prison. That must just be another dimension. Your race can travel in between…"

The sorceress shook her head with a smile, wanted to reach for another piece of bread but changed her mind halfway.  
"Believe me," Oriana said dryly. "If we could do that, I wouldn't be here dear Skyla. I would be with the others of my kind. My father and I both for that matter. But," her eyes grew sadder, "he couldn't open a portal by himself, not even with my help. And, as for me… I wouldn't even attempt it. I'm half trained and, in case you haven't noticed," she tapped her head, "not always as clear thinking as I should be. It would be suicide."

There was a very dangerous light in Skyla's eyes as she pointed her Skyswirlstone towards the woman.  
"Refusing to try might be as well."

Oriana grinned and crossed her arms like a little girl. "No," she said simply. "I had to live with my father's death, learn to carry on despite it. You can do the same. Trust me Skyla, it will make you a better person."

For a moment Joanie thought that the sorceress's words would sway the grief stricken woman but it was not to be as Skyla slammed her first down on the table again. "I do not want to be a better person out of grief!" she yelled. "I want my husband! I want to sleep in his arms every night. I want to sit next to him, have the chance to bare his child! Damn you, I want a life! Not a pale imitation of survival. I don't want to go mad like you!" She threw her fist at the sorceress again and this time a solid stream of power erupted from the Skyswirlstone.

Joanie couldn't stay to watch whether it hit Oriana or not. Crying, covering her ears because she couldn't stand to hear Skyla's grief any longer, she stumbled out of the cottage. She missed a step and fell forward; just in time she brought her arm up to shield her face…

&

To Be Continued…

_AN: This chapter is for Chipette, who has never missed a review. :P _


	19. The Truth of an Imperfect Memory

**Chapter 19: The Truth of an Imperfect Memory.  
**  
When she hit the ground, her shoulder exploded in pain and her side stretched so much she knew that it would start bleeding again. Joanie, sobbing, pulled herself into a tight bundle, digging her free hand into the moist earth around her.

_That wasn't her!_ _It couldn't be. Not Skyla, not the woman she admired and loved. No_

Joanie turned so that she could lie on her side, drawing her hand in so that she hugged a pile of dirt to her chest. Her ears were still ringing with the grief stricken woman's shouts. Her cold voice still echoed through Joanie's heart.  
_That couldn't have been real, _she thought trying to control her sobbing. _If it had been real, her injuries would've been there as well. It had been an illusion. An act._

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to calm down.  
"It wasn't real," she whispered. "It wasn't."

A slight shift by her head was the only warning she had that there was someone with her. Joanie opened her tear hazed eyes and blinked when she saw a misshapen crystal foot by her head. _Oh no…_

She pushed herself up as quickly as she could, clinging to a handful of dirt because she had no other weapon. They were outside the cave again and the crystal guard that had attacked her stood directly in front of her. The sky round them was a strange mixture of blue and orange because the sun was already touching the horizon. Joanie tensed, ready to throw the dirt up into its featureless face. She knew that it wouldn't do any good if it decided to attack, but it did make her feel marginally better knowing that she had something to fight with. The crystal guard stood as it had after she had destroyed its companion, showing no signs that it was going to attack.  
_"Your experience was real."_

Joanie sniffed and resisted the urge to rub at her tear stained face. "It wasn't!" she snapped, shaking her fist at the creature. "Skyla would never do such a thing. She would never behave like that! That was an illusion!"

There was a sound like stone grating on stone and the young girl got the distinct impression that the creature was laughing at her.  
_"A memory,"_ it whispered. _"The darkest of the heart. It came from her, her mind, her darkest thoughts. It was very _very_ real." _

Joanie swallowed and unconsciously dropped the dirt in her hand. "It wasn't!" she insisted again. "If it was real, why wasn't I hurt there? It was an illusion."

The creature bent forward so that she could see her own reflection in its crystal body. _"An image of you,"_ it pointed out. _"You were not there in the flesh." _

It made a terrible kind of sick sense. Joanie stared at her reflection, unwilling to believe what the creature had said, unable to believe that the wild looking, dirty person in the reflection was her. She looked like she would've months ago, before she met Skyla. In her reflection she saw who she would still be if the woman had not changed her, had not stepped into her life.

Joanie closed her eyes, fighting a fresh set of tears.

"It wasn't her," she whispered.

The creature stepped back at her words and went to stand under the pillar from which it had come.  
_"Believing a disillusion will not unlock the truth,"_ it said as the dragon's fang grew down to meet it. _"If you can still face the person you love, knowing their darkest hour. Knowing the side they hide from you, then go forth. But, the path of denial will bring you nowhere." _

Joanie closed her eyes and turned around to look at the cave mouth. It wasn't as dark as it had been, but now glowed with the same glow that all the crystals had. She took a painful step forward but hesitated, feeling sick in her stomach.  
"It couldn't be her," she whispered. "She couldn't have been like that."

She closed her eyes again and swallowed down the sickness she felt in her stomach. "I didn't come all this way for bloody nothing," she growled under her breath then took another determined step forward into the cave.

When she disappeared from view, the Silver Horse stepped out from where he had been observing everything. His eyes were sad as he stared into the cave.  
"Denial won't help you," he said and glanced at the crystal guardian. "If you don't realize that, then you won't be able to save her."

&

Joanie hurried through the cave, more to get away from the crystal guardian than to reach Dame Skyla. The light that had been at the mouth of the cave soon began to fade, leaving her in darkness as the crystals turned to stone. She stumbled forward into the semi darkness until the light disappeared almost completely. Her first instinct was to try and make a glowing sphere with her powers but she was exhausted and her concentration in tatters. She generally had trouble doing it with both hands and with one, the task was impossible.

Realizing that she was bound to stumble on in the dark Joanie felt her reserve courage and strength give in. Closing her eyes, she leaned against the wall and sank down. She didn't even feel like crying anymore she was so tired.

"I didn't deserve this," she whispered as she rested her head against the cool stone. "And… Neither did Skyla."

She pulled her knees up and took a steadying breath. It pained her that she didn't whisper the last with a lot of conviction. Her thoughts unwillingly returned to what she had seen. She couldn't believe that it had been Skyla's memories that she had witnessed but she knew deep down that she was fooling herself. Joanie buried her hand into her hair, biting her tongue as hard as she could when she felt the anger that she had felt towards the woman returning. _If she was that cruel towards the people that she knew, maybe she did deserve this._

The thought shocked her, but she couldn't stop it and neither could she stop the wild fear that she suddenly felt when she thought of the mad sorceress. She had never heard anybody mention Oriana, ever. If Skyla had killed her then…

Unable to find the strength to fight the fear and the dark thoughts in her mind, Joanie surrendered to her exhaustion. She didn't have the courage to get up and find out the truth. Everything just hurt too much.

&

He watched her for as long as he dared, his beautiful queen, the carrier of his heart and soul. He loved her dearly and deeply, even if he knew she felt that he had failed her in that love. He knew that she understood though, now even if she didn't then. She understood that he had had no choice, that the lives of many were more important than the love of one. And, she understood that responsibility herself. She had carried the Skyswirlstone in his stead all these years, have made decisions on her own which he never had to face.  
Yes, she understood – and he loved her even deeper for that.  
Sighing, Skyler slowly approached Skyla where she was running her hand through a conjured fountain. She looked up when she saw him and smiled, brilliantly despite her predicament. She had trouble focussing sometimes, trouble remembering that she was cursed and trapped in a dream. They would share precious moments together where nothing bothered her until her mind inevitably returned to the one anchor that held her to reality. Joanie-Ellen, her adopted daughter.  
He had known about it for years, he had _met_ the child. Tiny and fierce Cara who had risked not only her own life but her friends' by telling him that his brother might try to kill him one day. She was the symbol of his failure to stop his brother.  
He didn't know how he felt about that now that he was finally faced with it. Relieved that Skyla had found someone to take away the burden of the loneliness that he had placed in her heart. Jealous because she wasn't just his anymore. And, terribly sad that the daughter of her heart was not the fruit of his bearing.

Smiling at his wife, he went over to her and took a hand she offered him. He drew her up, away from the fountain and into a warm embrace. She laughed softly and tilted her head so that he could capture her mouth in a passionate kiss. They stood still for a very long time until she finally pulled away, breathless and exhilarated.  
"Such possessiveness," she mused as she traced the line down his jaw. "What's wrong my love?"

He closed his eyes, regretting that the kiss had to end. "Our time together draws to an end," he said softly. "I fear that soon I will have to leave you my love."

She frowned at him uncomprehending, then suddenly – her eyes brightened and she looked around her.  
"My Sky Dancers?"

He didn't answer her but sighed deeply and stepped away from her. Realizing that she had hurt him Skyla quickly grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry Skyler," she said quickly and drew him closer to her, kissing his fingers lightly. "I have loved these precious moments with you. But… I do not wish to spend an eternity here. And, the wingdom needs me. As well as my Sky Dancers and…" She didn't say her name, but Skyler knew who stood behind the sentence. "I have a duty Skyler."

He nodded sadly. "As Queen and mother," he said softly. "I know Skyla. It used to be my duty you know."

She smiled and put her arms around his neck in a reassuring gesture. "It will be your duty again my love," she said. "When we free you from your… prison. When you come back to the wingdom, you will be king once more. I promise."

He laughed, but there was a touch of bitterness in his tone. "I won't hold you to it my love," he said sadly. "Things are changing, even as we are standing here. The wingdom has changed in my absence and even so in yours. I fear it might not need me as you think it does."

She frowned, unable to puzzle out what he was saying. Shaking her head stubbornly she pressed herself against him. "The wingdom will always need you," she said. "As will I. Nothing will ever change that my love. Nothing and no one. I will always love you. Always."

He smiled at her, gently and filled with love. "And I you my heart," he said gently and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Now, I fear that I will have to leave you for a moment. There's something I have to do. But I'll return, I promise."  
He stepped away from her before she could call him back, before he bowed to the urge not to interfere and keep her there as long as he could. Yet, he knew that he could not do that and remain the man she loved. She had a duty, and so did he.

&

"Joanie-Ellen."

There was a hand on her head, running its fingers through her hair.  
"Joanie-Ellen, wake up – you cannot sleep here child. Wake up, you are loosing time."

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking in the strange light and stared at the unknown man hunching over her. His hazel eyes were warm when her gaze touched his and he smiled a gentle smile even as she cringed away from his touch.  
"We meet again young Cara."

She blinked at the name, gaping at him in bewilderment. She frowned, puzzled, taking in his features – her eyes touching everything from his crown to his wings.  
"Skyler."

He smiled a sad smile at her and folded his hands over his knee. "You're loosing time Joanie-Ellen," he repeated himself. "If you fall asleep now – or into a deeper sleep – there's no telling when you will wake up again. You're exhausted child and Skyla needs you now." She stared at him, unable to believe what she was seeing and closed her eyes.

"I can't help her," she said miserably. "It's dark and I don't know the way."

He touched her again, first resting his hand on her head then trailing it down so that he could lift up her face to meet his gaze.  
"When has that ever stopped you little one? You have the Skyswirlstone. Use it, it will work for you."

She didn't answer him but glared at him almost defiantly. "I don't know how to save her," she said heatedly. "They say that I can't, not after what I've seen…" She sniffed and tried to turn her face away. "I don't even know what's real and what's not anymore. Especially not with you here. You're dead."

Skyler refused to let her go, refused to allow her to pull her face away.  
"He told you," he insisted. "The winged horse. The strongest force Joanie, that's what you need to use. Face what's before you Joanie-Ellen, don't deny it or your duty. You are not a coward, nothing that I have ever seen you do have ever pointed that way. Now, wake up." He reacted quickly, without warning. One moment his hand was touching her cheek almost lovingly and the next he brought it up as if to strike her.

Joanie gasped and tried to dodge it, closing her eyes in the process. She fell back in her cramped position and pushed her face against the cold rock.  
The blow never came and when she opened her eyes again, the passageway was dark and empty. Joanie looked around her, her heart hammering in her chest from fear.  
"A nightmare," she whispered and slowly pushed herself up. "A nightmare…" She steadied herself against the wall when she was on her feet and took a few calming breaths, pressing her hand against her burning side. She looked around the cavern in case King Skyler was really around, but the darkness showed her nothing. Sighing, Joanie resisted the urge to sit down again.  
"I don't know how to do this," she said softly. "And, using the Skyswirlstone…"

She looked up, beyond the darkness – feeling the sudden weight of the stone in her pocket. Using it meant accepting that she could, something she wasn't quite willing to accept or believe yet. But, she realized suddenly as she touched the bulge in her pocket. It was the strongest force that she knew. And… It was sort of made of crystal. Maybe that was the key, maybe it was what she needed to save Skyla.

Joanie bit her lip and carefully took the glove from her pocket, the stone blinking even in the darkness. She took a deep breath and closed her hand around it, carefully focusing on it as she would on her feather when she needed to use its power. She couldn't exactly sense it, but there was something…

She opened her eyes and watched as the Skyswirlstone glowed in her hands. Despite herself she smiled with a touch of triumph. Its light was enough to give her the will to move forward again. Not enough to illuminate everything, but enough to pick up the courage that she had so nearly lost.

&

He found her, standing by the balcony in the throne room, her hair whipping in the slight breeze, her brow furrowed in concentration. Slam walked over slowly and put a gentle hand in Jade's side, standing as close to her as he dared.  
"What is it?" he whispered softly.  
She turned to him, her beautiful eyes meeting his. "I don't know," she whispered as if she was too scared to speak out loud. "But… Something. Can you feel it Slam? Something's happening. Or, something's going to happen. I think that Joanie's close to Skyla, I think that she's still alright." Unconsciously she moved into his touch and closer to him. He didn't answer her immediately but sighed deeply and put his arm completely around her middle.  
"I don't know," he said honestly. "I know that I can't sleep, but that's nothing new these days." He tried not to look at her but rather turned his gaze in the direction of hers. "I know that Joanie's still alright though which I think is more than you can say about any opponent she might've encountered along the way." When Jade laughed it made his heart soar and he felt as if he would burst when she made herself comfortable against him.  
"I think you're right," she said. "The poor Flightless Realm never saw her coming."

"Saw who coming?" The two jumped at a new comer's voice. "And… Don't turn around on my accord. You two look comfortable enough." Camille smiled when she saw them, a rare gesture in these troubled days. Before they could move apart she joined them and put her arm around Slam, standing so that Jade would have to move through her to get away from her red headed suitor.  
"Joanie…" Slam replied to her question, his voice a bit strained when he realized that Jade's body was tense. But, when she relaxed and once again stood against him comfortably he carried on in a lighter tone. "We were just saying that she's probably up to all sorts of mischief there."

Someone laughed behind them and, when all three turned around they saw Breeze and Angelica walk towards them hand in hand. "Of course," Breeze was saying, "was there ever any doubt that she wouldn't?" They joined their friends, Angelica linking arms with Camille. None of them answered Breeze's question, but all found themselves staring off into the distance, drawing comfort from the other's presence. Something was going to happen, and they could all sense it…

&

Joanie stared at the huge eyes in front of her and screamed, startled. She jumped back and clutched the Skyswirlstone in front of her, its tiny light suddenly bursting into brilliance, blinding her. Cursing Joanie quickly rubbed at her eyes to get rid of the purple spots, allowing her concentration to slip on the Skyswirlstone. She listened for the sounds of attack but the creature must've been as confused as she was. Blinking, with the spots slowly fading away, Joanie realized that there was another light around her. And, she could see no creature. The stone cave had slowly given way to crystal and they were once again glowing faintly in the darkness. Frowning, Joanie stepped closer to where she had been, keeping her eyes wide open for any signs of the creature. When she found him, her heart sank to her shoes and instead of fear she felt a strange sense of pity. He was trapped in the glowing crystals and, when she looked around her more closely, so were many other strange beings.

It felt like a strange museum of sorts Joanie realized as she carefully walked down the passageway, looking at every suspended being. There were alien creatures she's never seen in the Sky Realm, dwarves, animals and, when she walked further down the passage way, even magicians. She realized suddenly what the Horse had meant when he had said the crystal brings people to the mountain. They were brought here to be entombed in stone forever. Unless of course if someone came to set them free…  
She touched the smooth crystal wall that stood between her and a young wingdom teen that looked about her age. Her clothes were different from the wingdom people that she knew and Joanie realized with a heavy sadness that it was because she was from a time before she had been in the wingdom. No one had come for this child.

She bit her lip and looked around, realizing that all of these people had been abandoned by their loved ones. _What was she thinking?_ She wondered as she started running down the passageway, clinging to the Skyswirlstone and keeping a sharp eye out for Skyla. _How could she have thought of not carrying on? What was she thinking?_ She loved the woman even if she had faults.  
_'__My school is not perfect, and I can assure you neither am I.' _Dame Skyla had said at her hearing. _'You know this, it's all in the __papers__ before you. But, it is my hope that Joanie's imperfection can be changed with mine.'_

She never presumed to be perfect, never presumed that she knew everything and had no faults. If what Joanie had seen was true, then Skyla had changed and learned from her faults. That was, after all what life was about. _And,_ she thought with a touch of guilt, _who was she to judge? She had been a thief in her life before this. More than that, she lied, cheated and fought herself out of every situation she found herself in. She was no better or worse than Skyla._

Joanie laughed suddenly, feeling better than she had since coming into this depressing place. Her laughter was short lived though as she stopped abruptly and stared into the crystal. Joanie's heart beat against her chest, as she stared at the woman before her. Dame Skyla still wore the same look of surprised fear she had when she had been engulfed by the light, her hands frozen as if she was clasping the crystal. The young Sky Dancers stared at her in silence, carefully walking forward to touch the crystal.  
"Dame Skyla?" she called softly as she put the Skyswirlstone down. With her hand free she traced it down the smooth crystal. "Dame Skyla?"

There was no answer save for the echoes of her voice trailing down the passageway but Joanie had never expected anything else. Licking her unexpected dry lips she took a step back and looked up at the woman. She had focused so long and so hard at getting here that she had never thought what she would do once she found the cursed sky queen.

"I'm here," she said stupidly and bent to pick up the Skyswirlstone again. "Don't worry." She slipped the stone into her pocket and ran her hand over the whole crystal, trying to find some groove or weakness. To her frustration there was none and, in a show of temper, Joanie kicked the crystal and stormed to the other side of the passageway. _Use your head Joanie-Ellen,_ she reprimanded herself. _Not your foot. Come now girl. Think._

The Horse had said the strongest force so… Joanie sighed and took the Skyswirlstone from her pocket. She stared at it for a moment, then at Skyla's hand. Sighing again she put the end into her mouth and slipped her hand into the oversized glove. She doubted quite strongly that she would ever grow into it as Jade had said. None the less, she bit her lip and closed her eyes.  
"If it is to be," she whispered softly, "it's up to me…"

&

To Be Continued…

_AN: Can she drag it out any longer? Yes! Of course! She's Alyssa of many words. Breaker of deadlines and Sheppardess __to soggy sheep in her spare time. Of course she can drag it out. ;)  
But, she'll make it up to you by saying that she's posted another Sky Dancers episode on you tube. Also, a self made trailer for the first story in this series – Feather in the Wind. Tell me what you think. ___

_Hugz!  
Alyss_


	20. The Strongest Force

Chapter 20:

**Chapter 20: The Strongest Force. **

Joanie stood before the crystal wall, the last thing separating her from Dame Skyla. She had tried to find an opening or a weakness in it but had come up terribly short. She had tried kicking it out of pure frustration and even that didn't break the barrier. Now she was faced with what she considered to be her last option, using the Skyswirlstone.

She didn't know how it worked and until this moment had only put the glove on once. She still didn't believe that it was hers, that she had any right to it. But, here in this moment, none of that mattered.

Joanie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "If it is to be," she said softly. "It's up to me." She tried to focus on the Skyswirlstone, tried to make it work as she had seen Dame Skyla use it. She could sense its power, could feel the force just beyond her reach but trying to touch it was like scooping water with an open hand.  
Joanie groaned and opened her eyes, staring at the blank stone. "Work damn you," she whispered softly. "Come on…" She closed her eyes again and tried to focus as best she could. Again, she could feel the power but reaching to it was impossible. Joanie bit her lip and tried to shift her focus and her concentration. If she couldn't reach for it then maybe…

She wasn't sure what happened but suddenly Joanie felt it erupt from the glove. She gasped and opened her eyes just in time to see a beam of energy shoot towards the crystal wall. She had a second to realize that she might've made a mistake before, instead of shattering the crystal as she had silently hoped it would; it bounced back and hit her square in the chest. Joanie fell back against the wall, stunned more than hurt. Gasping for breath, she clutched her side and stared at the crystal wall, hoping to see some change in its texture. When she couldn't see any she staggered upwards and practically fell against the crystal, running her gloved hand around the spot where she thought she saw the beam hit the wall. There was no change that she could feel.  
"No," she whispered softly. "No, damned it. No."

Biting her tongue, Joanie took a steadying breath and stood back. She closed her eyes and once again tried to focus on the Skyswirlstone, but this time failed completely to sense anything.

"Don't do this to me," she whispered softly. "I've come this far… Don't…" She clenched her jaw and took a steadying breath. "If it is to be," she whispered again. "It's up to me. If it is to be, it's up to me!"

Her anger built, like the mantra. She thought of the pain that she had felt when she thought that Skyla was dead, how lost she had felt. She thought of the shock she had felt when her friends pressed the Skyswirlstone on her, her anger when she realized that she was the next heir and nobody had warned her. She thought of the journey that had brought her here, how the horse had treated her and the trouble that she had gone through seemingly around every bend. And, she thought about Skyla, about what she had seen.

_My school is not perfect, and I can assure you – neither am I._  
She's not perfect, Joanie thought angrily, but she's _mine_.

Joanie opened her eyes and realized that the stone was blazing with an inner light and she realized that she felt as if she was in perfect control for the first time. Her last sentence was not a shout, but a whisper softer than spoken words.  
"If it is to be, it's up to me."

She focused the stone's power, probed the crystal before her. When she felt no flaw, nothing to push back or that would give way, she closed her eyes and threw all the power she held against the stone. It burned the space around her, turned and twisted down the passageway and straight into the stone. Grinding her teeth, Joanie held it for as long as she dared until it felt as if all air around her was consumed.  
Holding her breath, Joanie tried to keep the power alive for as long as she dared until her own strength gave out. Collapsing to the floor, she looked at the wall through a haze of tears, realizing that nothing had changed.  
Too drained to try again she dropped her head to the floor, gasping for breath and starting to sob.

"You said that I needed the strongest force," Joanie whispered, pulling herself into a ball so that she could clutch her searing side. "I tried! You lied, because it doesn't work. You lied!" She tore the glove from her hand with her mouth, dropping it to the floor as she looked up at the frozen figure before her.  
"And you said that you would fight for me!"

She staggered upright and hit the crystal wall with all the strength she could muster. "I thought that you would never leave me, but you lied! Everybody lies!" She threw her weight against the wall, kicking it even before her body pulled away from it again.  
"Damn you," she whispered, sobbing. "Damn you all!"

She collapsed against the stone and lay where she fell, too broken for sobs, to tired to stop crying. "I loved her. I don't care what she's done, she's saved my life. I don't care about anything except her. How can this be… I love her."

&

Like tears falling from the sky it rained all around them. Skyla didn't know where it came from; she knew that she didn't imagine it or create it as she could other things here. Her husband stood before her, his eyes smiling down on her – drinking into hers as if he wished to draw out her very soul to keep with him.  
She would find a way to bring him back one day, she thought as she ran her hand down his chest. She would free him from his prison, from this ethereal plane. But, she didn't want to stay here with him. Years ago, in the months after he had left her maybe, but not now. Life had moved on away from him, she realized. She had found strengths and weaknesses inside her which she would never even have dreamed she possessed had he been with her. She had changed, and she knew in a way so had he. Her hand moved up to his cheek as she smiled at him, hoping that he could see all the love she had for him and hold onto that in the lonely months that would certainly follow for him. There were no words to say what she felt, no gestures to express her love. He knew this and she could feel that same love echoing in her soul. It lifted her spirit as surely as it drowned her in sorrow.

"How will I cope now, knowing how much I've missed you or longed for your touch?"

He smiled, sadly and took her hand in his, kissing it as it passed her lips.  
"You will forget about this place," he said softly. "It will be like a dream. Vivid at first, so palatable that you can feel it and then… One moment it will just be gone. Faded."

Skyla shook her head, tightening her hand in his. "I won't forget this Skyler," she said almost affronted. "How can I? This has not been ideal. But… these moments have been precious." His eyes were sad as he pulled her into a kiss.  
"Stolen," he said softly. "Which is partly why you will forget my love. But, that's alright. I will remember and hold it in my heart. I love you Skyla, I always have and I always will. Not a day goes by that I do not regret choosing our kingdom over you."  
Skyla sighed and leaned against him. The rain was becoming more insistent, she could feel its cold seeping into her skin.  
"But you had to," she said. "I understand that choice Skyler. I didn't in the beginning but I do now."

The cold was becoming more intense, yet she didn't feel alarmed

"You have to go," Skyler whispered but she hardly heard him. "Good bye my love."

Through the cold that was washing over her she felt a single warm touch against her forehead as his lips brushed against her.  
Yielding to the cold, yet embracing his warm touch, Skyla allowed herself to slip away.  
"I love you," she whispered. "I love you…"

&

The tears, like rain, dripped down the wall to the floor. Single drops at first, they soon joined, pulled by some hidden and ancient force. The moisture spread out, between the fingers of the sobbing child, like Miniature Rivers following age-old paths. As they reached the wall they soon split again and flared up. Lightening cracks appeared in the crystal along the path the tears made, melting the crystal as far as they spread. Then, when they reached the top there was a sudden burst of light. The crystal melted away completely, slowly freeing its precious occupant.

Skyla gasped, a painful gesture and blinked. Her eyes felt sore and grainy, her body cold and stiff. The mysterious support she had around her legs vanished suddenly and she felt herself collapsing to her knees.

"What is this?" she whispered and closed her eyes. "Skyler? Skyler?"  
She felt disorientated and displaced. She remembered her husband, she could _feel_ his kiss on her forehead. But…

She rubbed at her eyes and tried to sit up, supporting herself against a cold wall. Skyla opened her eyes slowly and looked around her. The light was not as strong as it had felt the first time, about as intense as those few precious moments after the sun had set. She couldn't guess, but it appeared as if she was in a cavern of some sort. The silver grey light reflected off of the crystals all around her. And she wasn't alone. She heard the ragged breathing before she saw the person kneeling in front of her. Skyla could only stare at the girl for a few moments before she leaned forward, carefully touching the youth's head. "Joanie?" The sight of her somehow made Skyla want to cry. "Joanie-Ellen is that you?"

The girl first cringed away from her touch but then, at the sound of her voice, looked up slowly, her eyes mixed with disbelief and fear. She looked at Skyla, her mouth opening and closing, before she suddenly dove into the woman's chest.  
"Mother," she whispered. "Mom…" The girl clung to her as if she would never let her go as fresh; painful sobs started shaking her tiny body.

Skyla closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her adopted daughter, unable to withhold her own tears. _She has never called me that… Never…_

"It's okay," she whispered softly. "It's okay, I'm here. I'm here Joanie…" She looked around once. _Where is my husband?_ "It's alright." She knew that he was close, she could remember him. "What happened Joanie? Where are we?" When the girl didn't answer her immediately she looked around bewildered. "Jade?" she called. "Breeze? Slam?"

Skyla tried very hard to get her confused thoughts in line. She noticed the Skyswirlstone on the ground close to her and wondered how it had come off her hand. Without letting go of Joanie she drew it closer and picked it up. She felt better when she slipped it onto her hand, even if it just provided more comfort. Joanie had stopped crying but had gone terribly quiet, still clinging to her with what seemed to be all the strength in her body.

_Her body…_

She sensed more than saw that something was terribly wrong. Taking a deep breath, Skyla formed a light with her Skyswirlstone so that she could see the young Sky Dancer better. She was a terrible sight.

With her heart beating faster and faster Skyla realized that Joanie almost looked like she had when she had first appeared in her life. She seemed to have lost all the weight that she had gained in her time at the academy, her gaunt cheekbones covered in grime. She also had the unmistakable smell of blood lingering around her. When Skyla touched her face gently the girl's haunted eyes turned to hers.  
"I thought that I would never see you again," Joanie whispered softly.  
Skyla licked her lips and tried to smile. "I'm right here," she whispered. "Joanie, what happened to you? Where are we?"

The girl didn't pay her questions any mind as she sighed and just hugged the woman again. "I didn't think that it would work. I don't even know…"

Skyla closed her eyes, trying to keep her mounting frustration at bay and just hugged the child against her. She was very clearly in shock. _As am I,_ Skyla thought bitterly. _What's going on?_

Instead of pressing further for an answer Skyla carefully slipped her legs in underneath her then put her arms around the small dancer and picked her up as she stood. Joanie, normally so reluctant to be held, merely grunted in pain before she wrapped an arm around Skyla's neck. _She really had lost weight…_

"Jade?" She tried again to call her other protectors again. "Angelica? Camille? Anybody?"

There was a sharp sound, an echo.  
Skyla, overcome by a wave of dizziness as she stood up leaned against the smooth wall around her, hugging Joanie close. Another light apart from her Skyswirlstone and the blue walls around her entered the passageway.

"Breeze?"

"Your other protectors are not here."  
The words felt spoken, but the voice was not human. Skyla hugged Joanie closer and took a step back, raising the Skyswirlstone in the direction of the approaching light and ever increasing echoes. _Footsteps. _  
"Who are you?"

The silver light suddenly filled the passageway, revealing a tall winged horse. Skyla looked around for its handler but soon realized by the intelligent look in the animal's eyes that it was alone. It had been the one who had spoken.  
Skyla clenched her jaw and tightened her hand in her glove. "Who are you?" she repeated as the animal regarded her with clear blue eyes. "Where are my other Sky Dancers?"

The Horse didn't answer immediately but looked at Joanie, his strange eyes filled with an immense compassion and pride. Then, when Skyla slowly lowered her glove, confused by the emotions that she had seen, he turned to her and bowed deeply, his nose practically touching the ground.  
"Your Majesty," he said with reverence, not rising from his position. "Your daughter is the only one here. She had come alone to my Realm."

Skyla swallowed and risked a glance in Joanie's direction. She had tensed at the appearance of the silver winged horse but did not shift in her position.  
"Rise, please," Skyla said softly and shifted Joanie into a more comfortable position. "Your Realm?"

The Horse rose to look at her, his eyes easily meeting hers. "You are in the Flightless Realm Skyla Zavere," he said softly. "I am… the Protector here. Your daughter came to me for help. I must… beg your forgiveness. I did not take care of her as I rightly should've."

The Sky Queen almost laughed as she struggled to keep her legs steady. "It's alright," she heard herself say. "You're forgiven. The Flightless Realm?" She realized that she should've bowed, showed some sort of respect to the being which she suspected held as much authority as she had – especially after he had graced her with such a formal show of respect, but she could not make herself move, much less bow with Joanie in her arms.

The Horse nodded with a touch of amusement in his blue eyes. "I will leave it to your daughter to explain," he said and glanced behind him. "Now please, if you'll trust me to carry you out of here. We cannot stay here long, it is… disrespectful."

Skyla nodded numbly and took a step forward before she hesitated, aware of Joanie's tense body. "What is _wrong_ with my daughter?" she queried and hugged Joanie as tightly as she dared. "She hasn't said a word really. And…" She looked around, feeling desperate.  
Again, that seemingly misplaced compassion entered the Horse's clear blue eyes. "He is not here," he said softly. "Your husband remains in his prison. There is no gateway to free him here Skyla Zavere. And your daughter… She has delved deeply into her reserves these past few days. Deeper than I had thought she could. I believe that she is exhausted beyond words. With rest, you will both recover and heal. Now, please…" He spread his wings and bent his one leg so that he could lower his chest to the ground in an insistent gesture. Skyla, blinking tears, stumbled forward and carefully put Joanie on the Horse's neck because disobeying his quiet command took more will power than she had. Her young Sky Dancer leaned forward and wrapped her hand in the Horse's mane with an instinctive ease which made Skyla realize that she had done it before. Her other arm, she also realized, was wrapped tightly against her chest. Bewildered and lost in her own troubled thoughts as she mounted behind her daughter, Skyla missed Joanie's quiet words as she buried her face in the Horse's mane.  
_"Thank you." _

&

To Be Continued… still.

_AN: Right, for those who haven't noticed (or didn't know really) I've put another trailer up on you tube and episode (Treasure Cloud). My internet situation is a bit dire at the moment. I'm living in… a commune of sorts and just about have time to upload chapters and check my emails._

_Thanks for reading! More coming soon. :)_

Alyssa 

_-;--  
_


	21. Soft Reason

Chapter 21:

**Chapter 21: Softer Reason. **

When she woke up the next morning, Joanie was gone.  
Skyla blinked groggily, and felt around her disorientated. She remembered the feeling of a body against hers and it hurt not having someone close. The Winged Horse had not taken them far that evening. In her current state she was a terrible judge of time, but by her guess they had flown for about an hour before he finally set them down. In the dark, she could not see where they were but it was sheltered from what felt like a very cold wind. Joanie had already fallen asleep on the Horse and, although she wasn't tired, Skyla had carefully put her down where the Horse indicated and lay down beside her - partly for warmth, party for comfort. It took her a very long time to fall asleep and when sleep finally came, her dreams had been dark and haunted.  
She knew, deep inside her that she had lost Skyler again and waking up without Joanie was terrifying. She was deeply worried about the girl purely because worrying about Joanie was better than worrying about herself.

Skyla got up and looked around her. She hadn't noticed it the night before but the Horse had led them into a cave of some sorts. Moving to the walls she gently ran her hand over the wall's surface, taking note of the crystals embedded in the wall. Shivering, she realized that the Horse wasn't around either.

She was completely alone.

Fighting panic, Skyla stumbled out of the cave, automatically checking to see if her glove was still on her hand. It was, but it disturbed her to see that there was blood on it. She touched the glove's palm as she stepped into the sunlight, then looked around quickly.

A flash of silver alerted her to the nearby presence of the Horse. He was grazing on a patch of grass not far from her at the edge of a small pool. The cave, she realized, was set in the bank of it and they seemed to be still quite deep in the mountain range. Stark rocks and boulders rose up around her. Unable to help herself, Skyla spread her wings and tried to fly but it was as useless an attempt as it would've been in the academy. She sighed and noticed that that Horse was staring at her.

Skyla smiled politely and inclined her head in respect before she approached him. He puzzled her, perhaps even frightened her. She sensed an immense power in him, yet he bowed to her and seemed to expect nothing in return. It was because of that that Skyla, when she was close to him, bowed down carefully.  
"My Lord."

The Horse snorted and trotted over to touch her lightly on the shoulder in permission to rise. "My Queen," he said amused and bowed down to her when she stood up. He did not wait for her permission to rise though and looked up, his eyes expectant.  
"How are you feeling?"

Skyla held up her hand in defeat and shook her head. "Disorientated and confused," she admitted. "Please, can you tell me where my daughter is?"  
The Horse nodded and tossed his head in the direction of the pool, sure enough – when Skyla had a second look she realized that Joanie was sitting on the opposite bank. Taking a deep breath of relief Skyla closed her eyes in silent prayer then looked back to the Horse. He was staring across the waters with a thoughtful expression in his clear eyes she wasn't sure she liked. Biting her lip she once again inclined her head and set of towards the young Sky Dancer. She had not taken two steps when his clear voice called her back.  
"Skyla Zavere."  
She stopped despite herself and turned around to look at him. The Horse stepped forward, his expression unreadable.  
"Your daughter will tell you of her journey," he said quietly. "But, I should tell you of the reason first."

Relief brushed over the maelstrom of emotions she was feeling as she nodded and walked back to the mythological being. He led her over to a flat rock where she sat down. He too sank down into the grass so that she did not have to look up at him.  
"I did not think much of your daughter when I first saw her," he began quietly. "She was desperate, arrogant. She allowed her emotions to dictate her actions rather than clear thought. It was understandable under the circumstances. Two days before you had disappeared before her eyes, brought here to the Crystal Mountains by a curse as old as this land itself."  
Skyla frowned and stroked her Skyswirlstone. "A crystal," she said frowning slightly. "One… About the size of… A child's head? That carried it?"

The Horse nodded solemnly. "You remember?"

She nodded slowly and frowned across the waters where Joanie was sitting. "Vaguely," she said carefully. "I remember… a party." She frowned deeper. "A celebration of my coronation if I'm correct."  
The Horse nodded, following her gaze to her daughter. "Your five year anniversary," he said. "The stone had been sent by your brother-in-law…"  
"Skyclone…" Skyla murmured, her eyes narrowing. "If it comes from this realm, how did he come by it?"

The Horse sighed softly, but he seemed pleased with her question. "Your daughter never considered that," he said. "Never bothered to ask." He flicked his tail in a very animal like gesture then breathed deeply and looked at her. "I sent it to him. With very clear instructions on how it works. Though, admittedly he thought that it would kill you."

Skyla's reaction was immediate, with a soft cry of shock she stood up and almost pointed her Skyswirlstone at the beast but his cool steady eyes stopped her.  
"Why?" she queried appalled. "Joanie at least seem to think that you can be trusted!"

The Horse sighed and tossed his mane. "Do you think that any of us with power can be trusted?" he said solemnly. "Can you?"

She sat down slowly but didn't dare take her eyes from his. "I try to be trustworthy," she said. "I try to be the best person I can be."

The Horse seemed to smile at her and glanced over to where Joanie was sitting.  
"You have certainly seemed to make an impression on this young girl," he said quietly. Skyla didn't say anything, nor took his gaze from him. "Don't touch my daughter if you intend to harm her," she said softly, dangerously. "I will not have it. I won't."

The Horse flicked his tail again, his clear eyes resting on hers. "But, I already have Skyla Zavere," he said softly. "I touched your daughter the day you gave her the right of flight." When the woman didn't comprehend what he was saying he continued solemnly. "Joanie's Silver Feather comes from me. Years ago I gave it to a man who had travelled to this realm from yours. Your Master Anwar I believe." He twitched his ears in what appeared to be irritation. "I felt as if I had no choice at the time, as if history had already been written." He flicked his tail again. "When I sensed your daughter's presence holding the feather I had to… meet her. Feel her worth. I could not just show up in your realm so I decided to bring her to mine. A test first to see if she'll come, a challenge when she did."

Skyla's heart was beating a frantic taboo in her chest. She shivered and tried to still her unease. She tried to find the right words but couldn't. Eventually, she clutched her hand over her chest and looked across the waters again.

"What did you find?" she breathed. "In your madness, what did you find?"

The clear eyes drew hers back to his and Skyla could feel the Horse smiling.  
"That she is a force in herself," he said. "And you could not have given the power of my Silver Feather to a better candidate…"

&

The girl was still staring into the pool.  
Skyla looked at her, remembering the night she had told her that she intended to give her a home at the Academy. The girl had begged her not to give her hope, as if it was some strange disease which she would never survive. In a way, she had not. The Joanie-Ellen she had spoken with that evening and the girl she saw before her now were two completely different people. The change in the girl has been drastic over the past few months.

And, she had changed now.

Skyla sighed softly and went to sit down next to her. Joanie looked up briefly, her dark eyes lost in thought. None the less, the relief of seeing her was almost palatable. Unsure of how she should act, remembering the whispered '_Mother'_ on Joanie's lips, Skyla carefully put her arm around the girl's shoulders.  
"Are you alright?" she asked softly. "Good morning."

Joanie pulled her eyes away from her face and sighed softly, smiling weakly. "I think it's afternoon," she said quietly. "But, it's hard to judge time here. Are you… alright?"

Skyla smiled gently, ruffling the young girl's hair. "I asked first."  
Joanie flinched, but not at her touch. "I'm… good," she said then suddenly, almost frantically. "You? Are you alright?"  
Skyla nodded, not speaking but it seemed enough for Joanie. The young Sky Dancer breathed a sigh of relief and gingerly touched her side. Skyla noticed with a touch of dismay that there was some blood on the unknown shirt that she was wearing but she decided not to comment on it. Not yet. She sighed and looked out across the dark pool until she felt her adopted daughter stir.  
"What were you two talking about?"

Skyla involuntarily glanced at the Winged Horse who had stared grazing again. "You," she said quietly. "And me." She took a steadying breath. "Joanie, the horse told me that… You've had a difficult journey here." When the girl didn't make any comment she carried on quietly. "And… And to rescue me, you had to see…" Joanie shifted but didn't look at her. "Some of my memories."

The young girl's back stiffened and, maybe unconsciously, she moved away from her.

"It's alright," she said monotonously but Skyla wasn't convinced. She sighed softly and sensing that Joanie didn't want to be near her took her arm from the girl's shoulder and waited quietly.  
"I can… deal with most of it," Joanie carried on softly. "Firstly, they weren't… You didn't share them willingly, I had no right to them. It's… An invasion of privacy." She sniffed and shrugged. "And, they didn't affect me. Or shouldn't have." She rubbed her brow and looked at the woman pleadingly. "You said yourself, you're not perfect."

Skyla nodded quietly, mentally wondering when Joanie had heard her say that. "And," she queried softly, "are you alright with that?"

Joanie didn't look at her immediately as she glared at the water. She seemed to want to nod then rather changed her mind. She took her hand from where it had been pressing against her side and made a vague motion.  
"The Tinker deserved what he got," she said softly. "I think in the grand scheme of things he plays his own game. He always has I think. And, they were trying to force you…" Joanie bit her lip when Skyla frowned at her puzzled. "I've been thinking about it all morning," she said quietly then took a deep breath. "There were… Three memories. One of… The day you… Faolin was there. It was the first day that you had been left on your own I presume after your husband died."

Skyla's brow darkened as she closed her eyes. "I… remember," she said with regret. "I did… apologize. I'm sorry you had to see that Joanie."

The young girl sighed and made a dismissive gesture. "Now you know I know," she said quietly. "And, it… I've been thinking about it. It doesn't affect us. Or me. If it should've affected anybody, it was Faolin. You treated her… She didn't deserve that mo… Dame Skyla. She didn't. She loves you terribly, I think. But, she stayed on and must've forgiven you for it so…" Joanie sighed, a sound of release. "So who am I to judge you?"

Skyla nodded relieved, watching the young girl as she licked her lips. "And the Tinker?" she queried puzzled.  
Joanie's frown intensified. "Same day," she said softly. "You met him in your husband's office." She sighed and ticked at a stone with her heel. "The way I figure, he kept you alive those past few days after Skyler… You must've been pretty angry at them. At the world. I… can understand that. People forcing you to do what you don't want to, what you should not have to do…" Her dark eyes were older than Skyla remembered when they touched Skyla's glove. "I can understand that you were angry with him even if he was trying to help you."

Skyla shifted uncomfortably and turned so that she could look at Joanie with more ease. "But?" she queried.

Joanie sniffed and closed her eyes. "But the woman mom," she said softly – the word sliding off of her tongue in a bitter sweet way. "The… the magician. Oriana the sorceress." She seemed to check her words, cut them. "I… she didn't appear to be well. She couldn't have been. She was an innocent, an outside player in this… I saw…" she opened her eyes and allowed them to drift up to Skyla's face. "Did you… Did you kill her?"

Skyla closed her eyes and touched her face. Nobody had known where she had gone that day except the Tinker and he never knew the details. It had been…  
"I wanted to," she replied quietly. "In that moment, I wanted to."  
Joanie closed her eyes, her free hand travelling to her face as if she wanted to close her ears.  
"But," Skyla continued quickly. "I didn't. Joanie-Ellen, I have never taken a life. I… She saved me that day. By allowing me to…" She closed her eyes. "I didn't kill her my pet, I didn't."

Joanie's relief was almost visible in the chilly air. She rocked forward with relief, then without warning quickly moved so that she could be close to Skyla again.  
"I'm sorry for doubting you," she whispered, her voice thick. "I'm so sorry for doubting you."  
Skyla laughed softly, giddy with relief herself. "You had every right," she whispered softly and touched the young girl's head. "I almost did."

Joanie seemed to move into her touch. "What happened?" she asked puzzled causing a bitter edge to enter Skyla's laugh.  
"I missed," the queen said softly, looking at her Skyswirlstone. "I just missed."

Joanie choked a laugh of pure shock. "Bummer," she managed.

Skyla laughed and shook her head. "No," she said. "No, a gift…" She let her hand travel down to the youngster's shoulder and carefully drew her closer. "I was faced with the darkest side of myself that day, _that second_. And, she allowed me to see it. After… I realized what I had done or what I had almost done, I had a choice. I could allow my grief to swallow me, to drive me as mad as the woman in front of me, or I could live above it, beyond it." She smiled slightly, pleased when Joanie seemed to bury herself in her side. "I chose the latter."

The girl's breathing was very deep, as if she was fighting tears. Skyla held her tenderly, remembering with renewed joy that Joanie had called her 'mother'.

"What did she mean?" the girl queried when she got her emotions under control. "That you… Married a dead man." The question sounded strange, as if Joanie already knew the answer.

Skyla sighed and shrugged. "I never found out," she said quietly. "Oriana kept her secrets close. After we spoke, and I had time to think about it, I realized that she had been right though. Skyler had always loved me with a painfully fierce intensity as if… as if every moment could be his last. It made me a little insecure at times because I felt as if he was constantly planning to leave me." She sighed and shrugged, her gaze painful. "Perhaps he had had a premonition of what was to be. I will never know."

She was aware that Joanie had buried her face against her chest. "I'm sorry," the young girl whispered softly, causing Skyla to laugh.  
"You're not to blame," she said softly. "Life is about unanswered questions." She looked up to the sky and sighed. "I should take you to meet Oriana one day. We… don't get on well, but I have tried to make an effort, if only in the memory of my husband." She smiled slightly. "I certainly try to make sure that she always has jam at her disposal. I haven't gone to her in months, but the Tinker still goes quite often to my knowledge." When she felt Joanie stiffen she made a quick soothing sound. "She's not always as mad as she was… That day."

Joanie nodded quietly but said nothing.

&

To Be Continued…

_AN: In the past 6 weeks, I have not slept in the same bed for more than 8 days. I think it's starting to affect the way I think, lol, because I had an unnaturally hard time producing this chapter. None the less, here's another for your enjoyment! I'm hoping to finish this story before summer's end. Though mind, that's the general summer. According to Scotland weather summer's already but a memory. (If it ever truly came). I have put another Sky Dancers vid on you tube (some time ago). It's the Skyler vs. Skyler one which I wrote a filler for. Hope you enjoy._

Have a great day!

Alyss 

_-;--_


	22. A Story Told

Chapter 22:

**Chapter 22: A Story Told… **

Considering the hard time that they had had to get there, the journey back from the Crystal Mountains was surprisingly uneventful. For the first day Joanie found herself driving in and out of sleep most of the way, emotionally too exhausted to even feel glee over her achievement. They spend the night at the cave she and the Horse had shared the first evening of their journey. At Joanie's request Queen Skyla had carefully loosened her bandages, specifically the one around her shoulder. The queen's eyes were dark when she heard that Urla's prediction had been that Joanie might never fly again but she gently reassured her adoptive daughter that the Tinker might be able to help. She was worried about the wound in Joanie's side which was still oozing blood occasionally, but she daren't remove those bandages for a closer look. All of them went to sleep cold and hungry because Joanie had lost her shoulder bag when she had been attacked by the crystal creatures and there was very little foraging potential in the barren mountains. None the less, when she was snuggled up between the Horse and Queen Skyla, Joanie slowly found herself coming to terms with what had happened. She didn't sleep a lot that evening, but found herself listening to the breathing of her companions, the deep rumble of the Horse's breath and the softer shift of Skyla's. She remembered that the Horse had not yet confirmed that she would be able to go home with the woman and it scared her suddenly. So, she listened to Skyla's breathing and savoured the security she felt wrapped in the woman's arms. She didn't know how she could break it to her, but she knew that before she came to the Horse and her agreement, she would first have to tell her about her journey.  
She dosed in the early hours of the morning but woke up again when she found the Horse move away from her back. She listened to him walk over to the small cave pool and take a long, deep draught of water. Then, as far as she could gather, he walked over to the cave mouth and remained there. Joanie sighed and rested her head against Skyla's chest for a moment or two before she carefully rolled out of the woman's arms without waking her. She didn't join the Horse immediately, but watched the woman as she slept. Finally, her heart uncharacteristically aching with a different kind of feeling, she pressed an awkward kiss on the woman's head and stiffly moved to the Horse. She felt as uncertain as she had felt when she had woken up in the cave the last time, and it disturbed her that he appeared to be standing in almost the exact same way. She walked up to him but paused when he turned to look at her, his blue eyes bright in the early morning light. She smiled tentatively, her sound arm hugging her hurt one to her body. Without saying anything she joined him by the cave mouth and stared out across the escarpment. When he didn't say anything, she touched his neck gently then sat down, running her hand down his shoulder and leg as she did so. His skin rippled underneath her fingers as he flicked his tail.

"You have to tell her today," he said quietly. "Before we reach Urla and Ingwar."  
Joanie didn't grasp what he said immediately but then glanced at her open hand and sighed. "They'll probably be very formal," she said with a sigh. "Are we definitively going to them?"

The Horse inclined his head ever so slightly. "Yes," he said. "Your wounds need looking after and we all need a decent meal."

Joanie shifted uncomfortably and looked at the mountain around them. "How… Far will you go?" she queried. "I mean… Across the boundary…"  
She got the feeling that the Horse was smiling at her. "All the way," he said quietly. "I'll carry you all the way Silver Feather."  
Joanie had to ask.  
"And, leave me there?"  
It felt as if every part of her was quiet as she waited for his answer. Even her heart felt as if it stopped beating until she heard his sigh and felt, more than saw his nod.  
"Yes Joanie-Ellen," he said quietly. "You belong to the Sky Realm as much as that feather links you to this one. And," he glanced back to the sleeping form of the queen, "you are needed there. But," he looked at her sternly. "I'm emphasising what I said Joanie, you have to tell her that you are the heir." He had lowered his voice to a whisper but even so Joanie nervously glanced over to Skyla to see if she was still sleeping.

"I know," she said finally. "I… I realize that. I do." She bit her lip. "It's just… I might not be what she wants to hear."  
When the Horse gave her a puzzled look she continued quickly.  
"I am not her real daughter," her whisper was tense, filled with sudden insecurity. "If I am the next heir it means that… Her children, her real children will never have it. The implications of that…" She shuddered. "She might see it as a sign that Skyler will never return. And… like so many on the council and most probably in the wingdom, she might feel that I don't… That I'm not the right one. That I don't deserve it." Joanie sighed and looked at her belt. "I don't know how to face that."

The Horse snorted in a way that made her realize that he was laughing at her, but in a kind way.  
"You have faced much worse Silver Feather," he said sincerely. "Remember that. And…" He looked at Skyla. "Being a part of someone's family had got nothing to do with the blood shared between you. You can be born into a family and never be a part of it yet meet a stranger and know that you have been a part of them your whole life. Life allows us the chance to make our own family, no… To _find_ our family." He took a step back so that he could nuzzle her hair and blew his sweet warm breath into her face. "And," he continued softly. "If it is any consolation Joanie-Ellen Zavere, that woman loves you with the same fierceness that you have shown in the face of all your trails. She will not be disappointed."

Joanie looked up into his face and stared into his eyes for a long time. When she found the truth in his words she closed her eyes and gently reached out and touched his large cheek. "Thank you," she whispered softly and rested her head against his. "For everything…"

&

She spoke of her journey all the way for the remainder of their travels. Skyla, sitting behind Joanie on the Horse, unable to see her daughter's face, could only listen in mute shock as the young Sky Dancers relived the past few days through her tale. Like painting on one of her canvasses, or sketching in one of her books, Joanie brought the story to life with all her emotions and feelings laid bare to the woman. Skyla felt as if she was there in the hallway with her other Sky Dancers, their wills bend towards finding some kind of hope that their Queen was still alive only to have it shattered when the impossible happened…  
Joanie was to be the next Queen.

A long time ago, when she had still been wrapped in the arms of her lover every night, Skyla had dreamed of seeing her own children hold the sceptre or wield the glove. She had dreamt of watching Skyler pass that right onto their own blood. Yet, his death had shattered all of those dreams and had even made it difficult for her to imagine trying to find a new heir. She had always thought that there would still be time… Maybe…  
Skyla blinked and lifted her face to the wind, feeling the air caress the tears from her face as she tightened her grip around the girl without risking hurting her more.  
"I'm sorry," she heard Joanie whisper to the wind. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I'm so sorry mom."  
The word was sweet and painful. Skyla rested her cheek on Joanie's head and just shook allowed herself to breath, to think.  
"I didn't mean for it to happen either," she said eventually as she watched the stone. "But… not because you are not Skyler's child. No…" She closed her eyes. "You have already felt its burden Joanie, it must've hurt you beyond words. I didn't want you to feel the same burden that I do. I would give anything to spare you because you are mine."

Joanie breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head when Skyla lifted her own. "As long as I don't have to wear it now," she said finally. "Alone… Then, I can deal with it. With you back…" She smiled. "Then it's not my problem anymore."

Skyla laughed softly as she watched the unfamiliar landscape drift by beneath their feet yet her heart was still heavy. She had not wanted for Joanie to feel the burden of the stone, yet she realized painfully that it could not be helped. Fate moved in mysterious ways and somehow, she knew now that it was not by chance that Joanie had ran into her all those months ago.  
Yet she felt lighter suddenly. For the first time since her husband's demise she did not have to carry the stone alone. Now, there was someone to carry it with her…

&

As Joanie predicted, the dwarves were indeed very formal and _very_ daunted by Queen Skyla. The woman was the tallest being they had ever seen and merely getting her in from the cold was a bit of a challenge. They had no beds or furniture to accommodate her, and their home was scarcely big enough to accommodate three short people, not to mention one woman almost twice as tall as they were. Yet, they managed.  
Furniture was moved around and beds rearranged. Skyla was happy enough to sleep on just a blanket but a quick message to neighbours unknown delivered a set of mattresses that was quickly and effectively set up in the living room. Supper was served outside by a large bonfire so that everybody could be seated on equal level while the Horse grazed with them.  
Skyla had watched with quiet pride and amazement as the dwarves gave her daughter a greeting fitting for any princess of the wingdom and herself a welcome that would've put the people of court to shame. It dawned on her that since Joanie had come into her life she had known every move the young girl made even if she didn't see her everyday and it was strange to realize that she had been absent for such an important evolution of Joanie's personal life.

Skyla sat down on the floor close to them when Urla took Joanie aside to tend to her various wounds. Where her husband had been thrilled to hear of all Joanie's adventures she merely sat back and winched, muttering about the damage it had done to the Sky Dancer's healing side. Yet, she had been pleased to report to Skyla that her wounds were healing and with proper rest the young girl would be on her feet again in no time. Her wings were another matter but she didn't discuss this.  
It took both her and Skyla to convince the Sky Dancer to take a sleeping draught but she complied eventually and with a gentle smile Urla left Skyla to see her daughter to sleep. She returned later, having shoed out her husband to go and smoke his pipe where the Horse was, and bid the Queen to follow her to the makeshift bed. There she made Skyla lie down and carefully examined the woman with practiced hands.  
"I won't have it known that I let the Sky Queen fall to harm in this realm," she said with a smile as she was taking Skyla's pulse. "Your journey had been just as hard as your child's my Queen."

Skyla laughed softly and shook her head, suddenly feeling very close to tears under the older woman's kind gaze.  
"I think it's just starting," she tried to say it with a smile but when she blinked she found tears tickling from her eyes. She moved quickly with her free hand to wipe them. The dwarf woman smiled gently and touched her cheek, moving her hand from the woman's wrist to her hand.  
"It's alright," she whispered softly. "You've been through a lot your Majesty. It's alright to feel what you are feeling."  
Skyla swallowed and shook her head. "I don't know what I'm feeling," she said with a bitter smile. "I mean…" She hesitated and shook her head again. "It's just been too much. Life has changed too much for me."  
Urla enclosed Skyla's hand in both of hers and sat so that she could watch the woman intently. "And your daughter?"  
Skyla swallowed again, blinking more tears. "She's changed the most of all," she whispered. "A week ago, two weeks… She wasn't _my_ _daughter_. She never… I was a teacher. A close friend maybe, sometimes." She looked away to where Joanie was sleeping. "She never called me mother, never sat with me the way she did during supper tonight. And now I find that she is my heir… It's almost too much. For me, for her." She could feel Urla watching her but couldn't make herself meet the woman's gaze. "I just wanted to celebrate my coronation. Not because I am proud of what I have done these past few years without my husband but just because I feel that for the first time since his death, my life is worth celebrating. And now, everything's going to change again." Her gaze darkened. "And, I find that Joanie's life is… I can't always protect her. Not from everything. I want to, but I can't."

There was a soft laugh as the dwarf woman squeezed her hand. "My Queen," she said softly. "We cannot protect our children, ask me – I've raised quiet a few. We can give them the tools that they need to live life. We can teach them to recognize wisdom, but we cannot give it to them for they must learn that themselves. The hardest part of being a parent is to sit back and let them do what they need to, instead of what you feel they must. That's the difference between being a parent and a teacher."

Skyla watched the woman's face then shook her head slowly.  
"I don't think I'm ready and I didn't think that Joanie was ready to have a mother."

Again, Urla laughed softly and shook her head. "_She's _ready, the word slips too easy over her tongue." The woman pointed out. "And you will see Queen Skyla, no matter who you are – no matter what you carry with you, your grief, your history, your duty. Things happen at the right time. Being a mother is the most natural thing in the world. All you need to do, is be there. I do not know how you met, but I presume that you were there when she had needed a home. You were there when she needed to be sheltered. It's only natural that now, you will be there when she needs _you_."

&

_To Be Continued… _

_AN: I always struggle with the last few chapters. Part of me want to rush and finish it as soon as possible, part of me want to hang back and wait in order to wrap up all the loose ends that inevitably build up. Also, I find that my confidence in my writing is… Shaken a bit. Not because of feedback, quite the contrary. Due to Fanfiction's new function: reader Traffic, I'm able to see exactly how many people are reading this exactly and where they all are (just country wise, don't worry – I won't be knocking on your doors any time soon. Except of course you're in the UK and won't mind putting up with a crazy author for a bit… joking…). It's… daunting. I have people all over the WORLD reading my stuff. And, not just one or two… It's a good thing but scary._

_None the less, as you've gathered this is closing. I'm guessing three chapters at the most. Four if I decide to take a detour. Then, it's on to a new Sky Dancer's project (The Darkest Hour which I've been threatening to write for months…). Why stop here? So. For those in Canada, the USA, France, the UK and all the others reading this, sit back – relax, I'm not done with you yet.  
Oh, totally random. I've posted another episode on youtube – The Last Dance. _

_Alyssa _

_-;-- _


	23. A Throne of Politics

**Chapter 23: A Throne of Politics.**

Jade's stomach was in a tight knot as she tried to keep up with Camille.  
"So, Faolin didn't tell you why we have to come?" she queried and glanced to her left to see Slam and Breeze join them. She had been with Slam when Camille had stormed into one of the private sitting rooms the Sky Dancers could use for themselves. It was after supper. They had not done anything worth being embarrassed about, but none the less, even if they had only been reading a book Jade had found herself blushing crimson when her friend's eyes had rested on her. She had felt guilty too. Joanie was out there on her own, facing who knows what perils and Skyla was presumed dead, yet for a few moments the only thing she could think about was how nice Slam's voice sounded.

"No," Camille was saying. "I was with her in her office helping with some paperwork when she received a note. She didn't tell me what it was about, just to get you guys as soon as possible." She glanced at Breeze whom Slam had gone to fetch. "I met Angelica along the way and send her ahead to the throne room."

Breeze's face was troubled but there was an unmistakable touch of hope in his eyes.  
"Maybe Joanie's back," he said. "Or, they found something. It might not be a bad thing."

Camille shook her head as they turned down the last corridor. "I don't know," she said darkly. "But, Faolin would've looked… Better if it had been good news. There had been a very worried expression on her face."

The entrance of the throne room was just ahead of them. Slam frowned when he saw someone else enter it before them. He touched Jade's shoulder and motioned to the disappearing man. "Isn't that that Malakai dude?"

Jade frowned at him and shook her head. "Who?" she queried puzzled as Slam ran a bit faster so that he could catch up with the man.  
"Malakai," he said. "I can't remember his surname. He was the Head Councilman before Faolin. Skyla fired him after she found out that he had been keeping things from her. Remember? It was in the time that Joanie came here for the first time. We never saw a lot of him before that. He always kept himself pretty scarce."

"Oh…" Jade frowned. "Yes, I remember. I didn't immediately bring him to mind. I never liked him." They reached the door and slowed down to a walk. Camille joined them soon afterwards, also frowning in the direction where Malakai was standing.  
"Faolin told me that Skyla had fired him for more than that," she said. "It was suspected that he was in league with Skyclone, that he's been feeding him bits of information about the wingdom ever since he came back. Longer even Faolin said. No one is exactly sure when Skyclone returned. What are all these people doing here?"  
The throne room was filled with people. Except for what seemed to be the full council there was also of the higher lords and ladies of the wingdom present. The Sky Dancers didn't know half of them. Councilwoman Faolin and another Council member were hovering above the throne. Camille, who had spent more time with the politicians than the others, could clearly see that the room was divided into two parties trying to stare each other down.  
"This is completely uncalled for," Lady Faolin was saying as Angelica waved her friends over. "It's too soon!"

"What's happening?" Breeze whispered as Angelica slipped an arm around his waist, her eyes wild with fear.  
"Too soon?" The Councilman was saying. "Faolin. It's been a week since the child disappeared, nine days since our Queen died. This can't go on."

Angelica looked from one to the other.  
"The Council's decided to…" She swallowed. "To annul Joanie's claim to the throne, it's like, writing her off as dead. And…"  
Lady Faolin bristled with anger. "What can't _go on,_" her words were like acid, "is not only your lack of faith but your lack of _judgement!_" She turned to the other members present. "My friends, you are suggesting handing the power over all our lives to the man who had almost destroyed our kingdom! One who repeatedly tries to destroy our very… Our very right of existence."  
Malakai stirred in his corner. He was a middle aged man with light eyes and dull hair. Even though he had been all but exiled from the wingdom he still had enough pride to stand tall.  
"May I point out, dear Councilwoman," he said with false innocence, "that the only way he can do that is if he had come into the possession of the Skyswirlstone. And that is lost along with Skyla's…" he paused and smiled cruelly. "Bastard heir. I'm sure that with… the proper persuasion, Skyclone will let go of his grudge and see the bigger picture. His vendetta was against Skyla really. He _is_ royal and even he won't be blind to see the need of his people for a good leader."

The Sky Dancers listened in shock.  
"A good leader?!" Slam exclaimed and jumped into the air, his fists balled. "The man has _attacked_ this city countless times! He has put everybody in this room and outside its life in danger more than once! How can you be suggesting to just hand him the throne?!"

The Councilman with Faolin shook his head before anybody else could say something. "Calm yourself boy," he said quietly. "With all due respect, and gratitude for your role in our society, this does not concern you. Any of you."  
There was a series of protest from the Sky Dancers. "Does not concern us?!" Camille snapped as she joined Slam in the air, followed within a heart beat by the rest. "With all due _respect_, it concerns us most of all!" Breeze touched her shoulder as her voice broke an octave higher. The long-haired young man gave the councilman a cool look.  
"We've stood between the wingdom and Skyclone ever since Skyla called on us all," he said solemnly. "If you make him King, do you think that he will forget that?"

Malakai snorted. "You are not of this Realm," he pointed out. "This is the business of those with true flight. This is not your home."

"But it will become," Jade pointed out. "If the grounds on what you all make this decision is true. If Joanie is truly… lost or dead then as you say the Skyswirlstone is gone with her. Without it, we can't go home."

Angelica nodded sharply. "This decision concerns us as much as it does any of you," she reaffirmed what Jade said. "Even if we are not from here. We protected you. The least you can give us is the chance to have a hand in our own futures!"

There was a snort from some one. "Sky Dancer," an unknown wingdom man said. "With all due respect, from what did you protect us? A man claiming his birth right? Malakai is right. Skyclone would never have attacked the wingdom had it not been for Queen Skyla. Your duty was to her first and fore mostly. Do not deny that. This is not your home, if you cannot go back to yours, what does it matter to you if you move on to another place and make a life there. We do not need you. And…" His voice turned bitter. "The one of you that we truly need, young Joanie-Ellen, leaves us in our deepest hour of need – taking the Skyswirlstone with her. What does that say?"

Slam would've rushed to the man had Jade not grabbed him as he shouted. "Hey! You ungrateful son of a… Joanie proved that she's got more guts than any of us! That's what she proved!" He tried to break free of Jade's grip but Faolin's sharp shout stopped him and the ruckus the man's statement had caused.  
"Slam!" she snapped. "Everybody quiet!"

A dark silence enfolded the throne room as the woman closed her eyes to choose her words carefully.  
"It disturbs me," she said quietly, "to hear such things said. Skyla… Queen Skyla has done us nothing but good. More often than not at great cost to herself. She summoned these protectors, our Sky Dancers at great cost to them from their realm. She has never looked at herself first. Never. In all the time that I've known her. And, I tell you now, any man saying otherwise is committing an act more horrendous than treason and I tell you now, I will see that it is punished as thus."  
She gave the speaker in the crowd a meaningful look before she took another breath.

"I have a few things that I want to say. Firstly – Malakai. You are not welcome here. Your opinions are not welcome here and I would also like to point out that that _bastard heir_ will be your queen one day and you will have to make up for the wrong you did her today. Secondly. The Sky Dancers are true citizens of the wingdom. Our true protectors." She looked at the students. "Although I do not doubt that you will be able to go home in the very near future, I would like to reaffirm that you are all very, _very_ welcome here. This is your home." She sniffed then turned to everybody else. "This matter is closed. I am the Head of the Council and I tell you now, I do not vouch to give up so easily. We will wait and even if we have to wait for another week or another month even, we will most certainly _not_ give Skyclone the throne." She looked at her opposing Councilman. "And that is the end of it."

Her words had a powerful affect on the crowd who was completely silent, staring at her in awe but the Councilman was not swayed easily.  
"My apologies Faolin," he said softly with a strange amount of sincerity in his voice. "But, your power does not hold here. Everybody in the council agrees that you are too personally involved. Even if they do not agree with me necessarily. You were too close to Skyla, you always have been. In this matter at least you cannot be objective. We would hate to do it in this fashion, in front of all here, but here me Faolin, we will relieve you of your position if you do not stand down. You cannot make a decision pertaining anything related to Queen Skyla or the child. Not now."

Lady Faolin's face had gone stark white and for a moment it almost looked as if she was going to fall out of the air. Hovering precariously, she all but gaped at her associate. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it, looking to the ground.  
"Joanie-Ellen," she whispered. "Her name is Joanie-Ellen not just _child_…"

For a moment nobody knew what to say then someone from the back of the room by the window made a considering sound.  
"Hmm…" said the speaker. "It's good to know that _someone_ remembered my name. I wouldn't have thought that I was gone for _so _long."

Pandemonium reigned as people whipped around to look at the speaker. The first thing the Sky Dancers saw was a silver horse standing quietly by the window. The next thing they noticed was that it had wings than then finally…

The horse lowered its wings, snorted once and walked forward slowly. Joanie-Ellen sat mounted on his back, her head held high. "Though," Joanie continued almost casually, her dark eyes fixed on the councilman with Faolin. "I did like some of the things that were said. Like… Bastard Heir." She sniffed. "Has a sort of shiny ring to it. It hints that I might just be related to Skyla at least." She shrugged with one shoulder. "But then I've always been accused at looking for that _silver_ lining." The bite in her voice became clear for the first time as people scrambled to get out of the way of the winged horse who had flattened his ears in their direction. They stopped in the middle of the room where Joanie dismounted fluidly. It would've appeared that way to most people, but her friends knew her very well and immediately noticed the tightness in her movement and the way she tried to hide her winch of pain. She wasn't going to show any weakness.

Everybody was just staring at her and her strange companion, too shocked to speak. Joanie tilted her head and stared up at the two council members. Her gaze was so certain and challenging that her friends didn't dare approach her. She was not the same girl that had left them that evening a week ago.

"Thank the stars," Lady Faolin was the first to break the void of silence. "Joanie… Thank the stars…"

Joanie glanced at her briefly and grinned before she turned her dark eyes on the other man. "Anything you want to ask me, Mr. Councilman?"

The man gaped at her then slowly gathered his wits.  
"You've returned…" he managed then shook himself. "Where's the Skyswirlstone child?" he demanded. "Do you have it?"

Joanie raised an eyebrow and glanced at the ground, pretending to think. "Ah… No," she said shortly, pausing to listen to the cries of dismay. "But… _She_ does."

She turned towards the window ever so slightly.  
The Sky Dancers had known the moment they saw her, because they knew that Joanie would never have returned if she had failed in her mission. None the less, they all gasped as Skyla came into view. And they weren't alone. There was commotion in the throne room as everybody expressed their shock. Where Joanie appeared as if she had changed worlds since she had left, Queen Skyla still looked the same – if a bit travel weary.  
"The Skyswirlstone is right here Councilman Jaime," Skyla said with a small smile as she held up her hand. "You need not be concerned anymore."

The man drifted to the ground in shock and, even before his feet was properly on the ground, fell to his knees. "My Queen," he croaked. "My Queen…"

Skyla regarded him with a small smile and shook her head amused before she looked up to smile at her Sky Dancers. Angelica had started crying the moment she appeared and Breeze had promptly pulled her into a hug. Camille too stared at the woman with tears streaming down her cheeks. Only Jade and Slam stood fixed, Jade's gaze frozen on Skyla and Slam's frozen on Jade in concern. The raven haired woman made to approach the woman but hesitated when the queen shook her head ever so slightly and turned towards the throne where the councilman was still kneeling. She walked over determinedly, but at first ignored the man. Rather, she went to Faolin, who had also drifted from the air. The older woman was sitting on the steps shaking, her hands pressed over her eyes.

"Faolin," Skyla said softly as she climbed the steps. "It's alright Faolin."  
The woman didn't look at her, didn't make to rise.  
"Skyla…" her voice broke but she didn't cry. "I can't Skyla, not here. Not in front of… Not here."

Skyla was smiling gently as she watched her closest friend. "I think the people will forgive you your weakness this once Faolin," she said with a smile and lay her hand on the woman's shoulder. "It's alright to cry."

The Lady Faolin half snorted, half laughed. She had all but shuddered at the woman's touch. "No," she said determinedly, still not looking at Skyla. "They might, but I won't. Can't."  
Skyla nodded almost sadly and leaned over to hug the woman. "Come when you're ready then," she whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."

Faolin leaned into the hug briefly then pulled away and stood up. Without looking at anybody she flew up and left the room, Skyla's gaze following her with sad compassion. She sighed and turned to the kneeling man before making her way up the steps.  
"Rise Jaime," she said warmly. "Please – I apologize for… breaking up your meeting. Please continue, do not stop on my account. Joanie-Ellen?" When she sat down on her throne Skyla made the smallest of movements with her hand. Part of it was to show Joanie where to come and the other to show the people that she still wore the glove and that it was still blue. The other Sky Dancers watched numbly as Joanie swallowed then carefully, but very determinedly, made her way to the throne. She was limping slightly and her arm, they noticed for the first time, was in a sling but it didn't stop her from mounting the stairs and move to stand beside Skyla. Her dark eyes danced over the crowd before they touched her friends. She smiled briefly then looked at the horse that was still standing in the middle of the room, occasionally twitching his tail.

The councilman was laughing hoarsely as he pushed himself up. "I… The meeting is irrelevant now my Queen," he said and bowed deeply. "Welcome back. Child…" Skyla's eyes met his ever so briefly. "Joanie-Ellen… Welcome back." He bowed again, this time at her. Joanie shifted uncomfortably but, at a gentle touch from Skyla, inclined her head. The man straightened again and spread his hands.  
"I will make it known that you are back my Queen," he said smoothly. "If you will excuse me…"

He left without waiting for her dismissal. Skyla didn't even spare a glance in his direction as she stood up to address the other people in the room. Her tone was warm and for a moment it felt as if she had never left.  
"Go home everybody," she said warmly. "Tell who you can that I am back, put your neighbours minds at rest. You will sleep safely tonight. Everything will be as it was…" she glanced at Joanie-Ellen, "with one exception of course. I have heard of Joanie-Ellen's right to the throne and it must be known that I have no qualm with it. I accept it for in the other realm she is my daughter. Adopted yes," she glanced at Joanie. "But still mine. If there is however anybody who wishes to challenge this please say so. But, please, not tonight. We have travelled far, and are both very tired." She glanced at the horse. "Let it all wait till morning, for now I would just like to request some private time with my friends and Sky Dancers."

Her words worked magic. A murmur rose up from the crowd which was soon broken when someone loudly cheered Skyla's name.  
"Long live Queen Skyla!"

The woman blinked and smiled slightly as she inclined her head. More took up the cheer.  
"Long live Queen Skyla! Long live Queen Skyla!"

&

There were two figures in one of the dark corridors outside the throne room. One slunk away into an even darker corner.  
"Tell your Master not tonight," the man's voice was filled with disappointment. "The bastard lapdog came through in the end. Joanie's brought the Queen back and Skyla's accepted her claim to the throne."  
There was a slow let out of breath. "Skyclone will not be pleased," Jumbo the Imp flew up and shook his head. "Not pleased at all! Ugh, this is going to give me such a kicking. He'll say we should've attacked as planned. But you told us to wait Malakai…"  
The man swatted at the imp and turned away angry. "Don't say my name. And, it would've been worth it. But now, we have two heirs to deal with…"  
The other figure was some distance from the two lurkers, oblivious to their presence. Slumped against one of the walls, her body shaking with sobs Faolin looked up towards the stars.

"Thank you," she whispered to the lights. "Thank you so much."

When she heard a muffled cheer coming from the throne room she smiled and rested her head against the cool wall.  
"Long live indeed," she said softly. "And, _well done_ Joanie-Ellen."

&

_To Be Continued…  
_

_AN: This is for Imbrem's Ward. It's darkest just before the dawn my friend. Things will get better.  
And, for horridhenri from youtube who unknowninly saved me. _


	24. The Dance of Lords and Ladies

Chapter 24: The Dance of Lords and Ladies

**Chapter 24: The Dance of Lords and Ladies. **

"Well done Joanie!!"

Slam was the first to reach the throne dais after the crowds started leaving. He laughed and without warning picked up the young Sky Dancer, hugging her to his chest. "You rock!"

Joanie laughed but tried to squirm out of his grip. "And you hurt," she said. "Let go Slam! I'm not a doll!" Her protest sounded half hearted even to the others. Slam laughed and squeezed her again before he let go and turned to Queen Skyla. He hesitated, unsure of how to approach her but Skyla made it easy for him by smiling and spreading her arms. The young man smiled and with a more respectful approach than he used on Joanie went to her and hugged her tightly. Skyla smiled as she returned it. Although he wanted to stay longer, Slam knew that the others also wanted to greet their teacher and queen. When he pulled away Skyla kissed him lightly on the cheek before she turned to Camille who all but threw herself into the woman's arms.

"I'll be mush when you're done with me," she laughed as Camille hugged her just as hard, fresh tears brimming as she laughed along with the queen.  
"Give us our due!" the olive skinned woman exclaimed. "Damn it Dame Skyla, we were so _scared._"

Skyla smiled and patted her cheek as she stepped away, making way for Angelica who also hugged the woman. She had not stopped crying since she saw the Queen and could hardly say anything comprehendible. Skyla just smiled as she smoothed out the young woman's hair, looking at her boyfriend.  
"I don't blame you," she said quietly. "From what I've seen, you have all been through hell the past week. Am I right Breeze?"  
The young man nodded solemnly, unable to take his eyes from her. On the side Camille too picked Joanie up. "You're a scamp!" she was telling the grinning girl. "You are such a scamp sister. We have every right to do you serious bodily harm!"

Joanie laughed, but also tried to get Camille to lessen her hold on her. "I would really appreciate it if you didn't," she said. "Seriously Camille, I am hurt. I… love the hugs, but you're hurting me."

Camille was the first one to actually listen to her. "Oh gosh!" she exclaimed as Skyla pushed Angelica away and gently touched Breeze's chest, bowing her head to him. "What happened?"  
Breeze bowed his head so that he could touch Skyla's, his hand enfolding hers. They stood like that for a second before he took her hand from his chest and kissed it lightly. "Welcome back Dame Skyla," he whispered softly. "Welcome back…"  
His voice nearly broke, but he turned away in time. Skyla's eyes were very fond when she looked at him then turned to find her last Sky Dancer. She frowned slightly when she realized that Jade was still hovering where they had been before Skyla showed up. Her face was stoic as she watched the woman.

"Jade?" Skyla queried softly as she spread her wings and flew up. "Are you alright Jade?"

Jade swallowed and to everybody's shock actually flew back, away from the approaching woman.  
"You left," she whispered. "Without warning. You just left."

Skyla frowned puzzled then let out a slow breath as comprehension dawned.

"I'm sorry Jade," she whispered softly. "Please forgive me."

The young woman shook her head and made to turn away. "You are all the same," she snapped. "I have had enough. Do you hear me? Enough. And don't come near me. Don't!"

Skyla ignored her and before Jade could turn to fly away she managed to grab her and pull her closer.  
"Don't touch me!" Jade snapped as she tried to jerk away from Skyla. "Don't you dare touch me!"  
Again, Skyla ignored her and pulled her as close as she could, ignoring the way Jade suddenly pounded at her chest. She got two decent punches in before Skyla managed to warp her arms around the young woman and hold her still.  
"Ssh…" she soothed as Jade strained in her grip. "I'm not like your mother Jade. I'm not her. Ssh there… It's okay. It's okay Jade."

At her words, the young woman suddenly collapsed against her as painful sobs started deep inside her chest. "It wasn't," she sobbed softly. "It wasn't alright. You left us and we just had to carry on as if… We just had to carry on. And, it wasn't alright." Despite her words, Jade managed to bring her arms out from Skyla's grip and wrapped them around the woman's chest. The others watched numbly as the older woman soothed their friend, smoothing out her hair and rubbing her back.  
Joanie closed her eyes, fighting against showing her own emotion and unconsciously leaned closer to Slam who was standing with his hand on her shoulder. He pulled her closer and patted her on the head.

"You did good kiddo," he said softly as he watched Jade. "Thank you."

Joanie let out a quiet breath and shook her head. "I don't deserve it," she said softly and looked at the Winged Horse who was still standing in the middle of the room. His attention wasn't on them but rather on the man with him. "Not all of it."

It was the Tinker and it was very clear to Joanie that they knew each other…

&

They didn't have a lot to say to each other. The old man was too emotional; his gray eyes brimmed with tears as he watched the woman in the air. The Horse watched him for a few moments then, with a touch of compassion, nuzzled his shoulder. Age had touched them both very uniquely.

"I had hoped," the man said softly. "But of course, there was no way of knowing… Thank you my Lord."

The Horse sighed softly and twitched his wings. "I had a very small part to play," he said ambiguously. "Are you well Master Anwar?"  
The man shook his head, but not as an answer. "Please," he said softly. "Call me Tinker. I have not used that name in many years."

The Horse raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Life changes us," he said. "If you wish… Master Tinker. We are well met. I had thought that I would see you before this."

The Tinker smiled and shrugged, his eyes never leaving the Queen.  
"I was needed here," he said. "I had meant to return when I gave Skyla the feather, to tell you who carried it. But, things have been so busy. And, time passes differently when you age."

The Horse snorted a laugh. "I wouldn't know," he said haughtily, his eyes drifting to where Joanie was staring at them. "You have made a good choice." His words made the Tinker smile as he nodded in acknowledgement. "That's what I needed to hear," the old man said softly. "When will you return?"  
Joanie's gaze was dark as she meant to fly up but a winch of pain reminded her that she couldn't. The Horse sighed softly.

"As soon as I can," he said. "But not tonight. I'm exhausted, I won't deny it. And, I would like to say… Well." He sighed again. "I want to give them their night. All of them. What ever I have to say or do can wait till the morning." He glanced at the Tinker. "I hope that you still have some healing ability?"  
The man nodded humbly, smiling at Joanie as she walked towards them. "I'll see to her," he said softly before lifting his head. Joanie sniffed as she reached them, looking up into their faces with a puzzled expression.  
"The traveller must've been you," she said softly as the Tinker bowed to her briefly. "You two knew each other."

Both of them looked at her but neither replied. Joanie opened her mouth to say something but quickly quieted down when the Horse shook his mane.  
"What would it have changed if you knew before hand?" he said softly. "It's of no significance Silver Feather."

She tried to protest but again quieted under his gaze. Sniffing, she massaged her shoulder and searched the Horse's face.  
"Are you leaving then?"  
The undertone of uncertainty made both with her smile.

"Yes," the Horse admitted. "But, not tonight Joanie. I was just telling your Tinker that I'm tired and it inhibits me from saying farewell properly."  
Joanie nodded slowly and sniffed again. "What do you want me to do?"  
The Horse laughed in his special way. "Rest Joanie-Ellen," he said amused. "And, let the Tinker look at your wounds. Then, spend as much time as you can with your friends tonight. They will help you heal. For now, I have no need of you."

Joanie touched her tongue to her lips. "And later?" she queried softly, glancing nervously up to where Skyla was still hugging Jade.  
The Horse sighed and blew out a sweet breath into her face. "Maybe," he said. "But we will speak of it. Before I leave I assure you. But you are not my slave Joanie, you never have been. What I want from you is the same as everybody else. Live your life responsibly. Be true to yourself. If you are, then whatever need I will have for you in the future will be as much your need as mine. But," his gaze softened. "You can hardly think straight as you are. Go rest, we will speak tomorrow."

&

She didn't sleep enough, none of them did. Yet, Skyla knew that the time that she had spent with her Sky Dancers the previous evening was worth every yawn and ache she felt now. As if to accentuate her point, the Horse chuckled softly – a strange sound.

They were walking quietly through one of the palace's private gardens Skyla shown to the Horse the previous evening. Although she didn't say it in so many words, it hadn't been mowed in some time. Like Joanie, she found it hard to comprehend the Lord of the Flightless Realm's animal like behaviour traits. She wanted him to dine at a table, not graze in a paddock. He seemed too regal for such a humble task.

"I presume you didn't sleep a lot last night," the Horse was saying as they walked past one of the fountains. Camille, Breeze and Angelica were there, supposedly having some quiet time in the sun but Skyla knew that they were keeping a hawk's eye on her. Slam and Jade were with Joanie who was still resting. The Tinker's diagnosis was more than pleasing. With his help and a lot of rest, Joanie would be as good as new.

"I couldn't," she said softly. "They needed to be with me. It was hardly fair for me to demand my bed."

The Horse tossed his head, a feeling of a smile about him. "You have very loyal subjects," he said. "If I knew nothing of you that would've been enough knowledge for me to trust you."

Skyla smiled at the sentiment, thinking about the dwarves. "I could say the same for you," she said quietly. "As a ruler, I can say with honesty that it says enough but…"  
The Horse stopped so that he could look into her face. "As a mother?" he queried softly.  
Skyla frowned at the title and sighed softly, entwining her hands in front of her.  
"As a mother, I am concerned for my child. I guess that I won't trust anybody with Joanie. Not really. And you…" She sighed. "To be frank you scare me. I fear the bond and hold that you have over my daughter."

The Horse regarded her calmly, shaking his head at his next words. "I have no hold over your daughter, even if she sees it that way," he offered. "I will not harm her Skyla Zavere and I will try to protect her just as fiercely as you will."  
The woman was not convinced but started walking again.

"Alright," she said quietly. "But, I have to ask – why? It cannot be just because of your feather."

The Horse followed her, his air considering. "Because she is the link between three worlds," he said slowly. "Surely you must've thought of it that way. Yours through flight, mine through power and hers by birth. The different realms have never cared much for each other yet here she is before us. A key. A link."

Skyla's face was solemn as she looked before her. "If your actions bring her to harm," she said quietly. "I will kill you myself."

The Horse smiled and nodded his acknowledgement. "It won't be through mine," he pointed out. "There are other players, remember that. Just like your Sky Dancers couldn't protect you, bear in mind Skyla that you cannot protect Joanie from everything."

It wasn't what she wanted to hear but it was the truth. None the less Skyla balled her fists before forcing her hands to relax.  
"But I will try," she said.

The Horse was smiling at her again and this time his nod was almost a bow.  
"As will I," he said simply. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" He waited for Skyla's brief motion before he spread his wings and flew off.

She watched him leave until she felt a light hand in her back. Skyla turned her head slightly to see Faolin come up from behind her. The woman didn't remove her hand, instead turning her touch into a half hug as she came to stand beside her queen.  
"Is he leaving then?" she queried, her tone holding and undercurrent of awe as she watched the Horse fly. Skyla smiled at her old friend and touched the hand in her side. The woman's public display of emotion showed that she was still feeling very fragile. Even as her Lady-in-Waiting Faolin had showed very little emotion in public. It had been what made her so good at her job and ultimately a good candidate for the council. She had been willing to dedicate her whole life to serving Skyla and her husband with a fierce intensity very few understood. It saddened Skyla sometimes, but she had long since learned that there was nothing she could do about it.

"No," Skyla answered her last question. "I think he still wants to say a few things to Joanie. And, he has more manners than that I have to admit. He'll say farewell to me formally. He is a king in some fashion after all."  
Faolin nodded considering. She increased the pressure she had in Skyla's side then stepped back a pace.  
"Is there anything that I can do for you my Queen?"  
Skyla blinked at her tone and shook her head with a smile.  
"You are not my Lady-in-Waiting anymore Faolin," she said simply. "But, yes. As a friend I do have one request." They started walking again, away from the Sky Dancers. "If anything ever happens to me in this realm again, I want you to take care of Joanie. Please. I don't want something like this to happen again."  
The request startled the older woman to a stand still. She frowned in a considering fashion and glanced at the woman.  
"This is not the 'I plan to do something stupid, take care of my child?' kind of request is it?"

Skyla blinked and laughed. "No," she said looking back. "What makes you think that?"

Faolin grunted something and sighed. She didn't answer immediately took a few steps closer, thinking. Skyla watched her.

The older woman frowned suddenly and peered at her queen. "Would this be a formal arrangement or an informal agreement between friends?"  
_Ah,_ Skyla thought and smiled. "Formal," she said. "If Joanie was not next in line to the throne I wouldn't have bothered with the paperwork you understand but now…"  
The other woman's face was stern but Skyla could see her hiding a small smile.  
"I see where you're going with this," she said almost in an accusing tone. "Tell me, Queen Skyla, would there be some sort of formal title linked to this… duty?"

Skyla smiled and shrugged. "I think Regent would only be proper."

Faolin laughed suddenly and shook her head as she started walking again without waiting for Skyla to follow.  
"That's a sneaky way of going at it," she said. "Formally, you make me protector of your… child. Your daughter. Informally, you make me ruler of the realm. Stars Skyla," she shook her head. "You should not trust me with that power; I might just assassinate you to get at it."

Skyla laughed and shook her head, taking a few quick steps to catch up with her friend and linked arms with her.

"But I know you won't," the woman said with a smile. "And that's why it's you Faolin…"

&

It was much later.  
She was too tired to dance, too tired to think. None the less, Skyla sat up straight, watching the festivities around her. The council had thought it good to throw a party to herald her return and in the true fashion of the wingdom it was organized in less than a day. When it came to parties her people were surprisingly flexible.  
Smiling, Skyla rested her head on her hand and glanced over to where Joanie was standing with the Horse. They had been made honoured guests, a way of informally forcing both of them to attend. Skyla knew that Joanie had been reluctant because she was tired and desperately needed to be left to herself. The Horse had been aloof but gracious. Nobody in the wingdom quite knew how to treat him and for the best part tried to ignore the fact that he was even a different form than they were. None the less, the smiling wingdom folk had managed to get Joanie to tell them the tail of her flight to the other Realm. It was a different version from the truth, wingdom friendly in a way. Skyla couldn't see that Joanie would ever again talk about the real emotions she had experienced on her trip.

She sighed and glanced around for her Sky Dancers. She was pleased to see that they were actually quite close to her, standing in a close knit group. When they saw her looking at them they shared a look of solemn unity and approached her cautiously. Skyla frowned and sat up straighter, alerted by their serious expressions.

"Is something wrong?" she queried when they were within earshot and half rose out of her chair.

They very quickly shook their heads, Jade stepped forward a little. Her face was still gaunt from all the crying that she had done the previous evening and it disturbed Skyla that she still could not meet her gaze.  
"Everything's alright," she said and licked her lips. "We… we just wanted to talk to you. While nobody's around."

Queen Skyla raised a puzzled eyebrow and sat back. "Please," she said. "You hardly need to ask permission my Sky Dancers. Please, sit."

They nodded tensely and arranged themselves in a close semi-circle around her. When they didn't speak immediately Skyla reached out and gently laid her hand on the closest one's knee. "What can I do for you?"

Camille shifted, looking at the woman's hand on her knee.  
"I…" she hesitated. "We came to apologize. We didn't… We didn't do our duty. We weren't… We didn't serve you as we should've."  
The words were a surprise to her. Frowning, Skyla looked at the others for clarity. "Oh?" she queried. "How so?"

Angelica shifted and took a hold of Breeze's hand. "We like… gave up too quickly." She said. "We were told that you were dead and we… We stuck with it. We didn't like… Allow ourselves to hope. Not like… not like we should've."

Breeze squeezed his girlfriend's hand. "What's more," he continued solemnly. "We let Joanie go to the Flightless Realm alone. We put her in danger through that."

Skyla sat back slowly, touching her mouth as she frowned at her students.  
"I don't know what to say," she said blankly, stunned by what she heard.  
Slam grimaced and sighed. "We should've been with Joanie," he said. "If we had been, she would not have gotten hurt. We should've looked out for her and each other and you. All of the things that we didn't do. We…" he hesitated, his next words obviously painful to him, "We'll understand if you want to relieve us of our duties as Sky Dancers."

The woman looked at them for a long time. When her face showed no emotion at first they all shifted closer to each other, dread shining in their eyes. When she finally reacted though it was not at all as they expected.

The woman closed her eyes and started laughing, a pleasant musical sound which, a few days ago, they had thought they would never hear again.

"Oh my Sky Dancers," she said softly with as much warmth as she had ever given them. "My dear Sky Dancers, students and…" she touched the two closest to her. "Friends. I'll never think that. I'm not even disappointed in you!" She laughed again and motioned for them to sit a little closer. "You did exactly what you were supposed to do. You kept peace in the wingdom, you stayed close to the people, making them feel secure. You joined Faolin in the Council and helped out there. You figured out who the next heir to my throne was and I know that you tried to keep her from danger." She smiled at each of them in turn. "All of that while you must've been feeling…" She sighed and smiled. "No. You did exactly what I expected of you." She glanced across the room to Joanie and shook her head slightly. "Joanie was the one who had handled this the wrong way," she said sadly. "In the grand scheme of things she acted irrationally and irresponsibly despite her duties. I can't be angry at her for doing this because everything turned out alright but what if it hadn't? She put this wingdom in more jeopardy than she realizes and one day, when the time is right I will discuss this with her. But, not now." She sniffed sharply and looked at them sternly. "Anyway, how dare you think that I'd ask you to quit being Sky Dancers? You five are the best thing this wingdom has. And, the best thing that I do. And I mean this with all my heart. I love you all very much; I can never be disappointed in you as persons."

She stood up and gave them all a hug in turn. The girls promptly started crying again quietly and even Slam and Breeze felt their throats tighten. When Skyla sat down again it felt as if they could breathe again.  
"Your duties have changed," Skyla continued solemnly. "But we will speak of this later. For now, enjoy the feast. It's as much for you as for them." She stood up and smiled. "I for one think that I'm going to dance, how about you?"  
The group grinned and Slam jumped up, bowing before his Queen.  
"And I for one would like the first dance your Majesty." The title was followed by a goofy grin.

The Queen of the Sky Realm laughed as she put her hand in his. The others laughed as Slam swept her towards the dance floor. Their world was once again alright, their lives whole.

&

Joanie watched her friends with a smile as they danced.  
_This was it,_ she thought quietly as she watched Breeze and Angelica, along with Slam and Jade sweep over the dance floor. _This is what it must feel like to have a family. A whole one. I will never be alone again. Not really. _

Queen Skyla was talking to some of the people, laughing with them and Camille was trying to show Lady Faolin a solo dance from home. The older woman was tolerant but unimpressed. Joanie smiled to herself and took a deep, reviving breath. It came in unison with another. The Horse nuzzled her shoulder gently and smiled at her when their eyes met. "I'm ready," he said quietly. "It's time for me to go Joanie."

She blinked, feeling suddenly as if she has been dosed with cold water.  
"So soon?" she queried and glanced to where her mother was standing. The Horse followed her gaze and nodded. "I have said my farewell to her," he said. "And the others. It's just you."

Joanie frowned slightly and grimaced, unconsciously touching her shoulder. The Tinker had healed her to the best of his abilities and had assured her that she would be able to fly again within a week. "It… I'm not ready."

It felt strange saying that and hearing herself speaking but Joanie knew that it was true. She had been in this being's company almost constantly for a week and now, the thought of being on her own scared her. As much as she needed time to herself, she didn't know how she would be able to manage without him. Life would never be the same for her again.  
"Life's not about being ready Silver Feather," the Horse said softly with a genuine smile in his clear eyes. "Sometimes, even if the music is playing and it's not your song, all you should do is dance."

Joanie laughed softly and shook her head, surprised when she felt tears scratch behind her eyes. "You sound like my mother." She sniffed and looked at Queen Skyla again. The woman had paused in her conversation and was looking over to them. When their gazes met she gave Joanie a small nod then carried on talking.  
Joanie took a steadying breath and looked at the Horse again. "I have a lot of questions about… You. My feather."

The Horse tossed his mane, his eyes sparkling. "I'm not surprised," he said. "And, I won't be surprised if you find the means to answer them."

Joanie frowned, touching her belt. "So you're not going to answer them?"

The Horse shook his head. "How do you know me Joanie-Ellen?" he queried with a smile. "That would make it too easy."

The young girl grunted and shook her head in disbelief. "Of course," she said and sighed. "I'm… Not good with good byes."

The Horse nodded solemnly and turned his back for her. "This is not farewell Joanie," he said. "I will see you again. Now, maybe, a dance?"  
He dropped his wing and bowed down slightly – giving her space to mount up.  
Joanie looked at him and smiled suddenly. Despite the residual stiffness in her side she mounted smoothly and grabbed his mane for a secure seat. She could sense that they weren't going to stay indoors…  
"One dance," she agreed and settled herself. "But, let it be a _fast_ one."

&

_To Be Continued… One last Time._


	25. Epilogue: Gravity of Love

**Epilogue: The Gravity of Love.**

It was a school night and well past midnight, so the only sound that echoed through the hallways was the sound of Dame Skyla's footsteps. Even Whirl and Twirl weren't with her. She wondered how much the dogs understood of what had happened the past few days, but it came as no surprise to her to notice that they seemed unnaturally glad to be home. They all were, the five Sky Dancers most of all. She had given them some free time, suspending their classes for the next few days. All of them wanted to go home.  
She frowned darkly, realizing for the first time that if something happened to her while they were in the wingdom there would be no way for them to return here. It was a matter to consider, she didn't want to put her students in that position, nor their families for that matter.  
Ex-Councilman Weirmon had done a marvelous job at hiding their disappearance. He had assumed that something had gone wrong in the wingdom and she could see that even he had been rattled. She had to discuss this with the Tinker but Skyla decided that it was high time they tried to find a way to communicate between the Realms.

She took a deep breath, pushing the thoughts of the wingdom, of flight and of Queen Skyla away. She was merely a teacher here and…

She stopped in front of the one door and stood there undecided. Then, carefully she turned the knob, happy to find it open.

Joanie's room was surprisingly neat. She hadn't thought her the type when she considered her background but Skyla had found that Joanie was quite meticulous about her possessions. Everything was always packed away at the end of the day and although they never spoke of it, she knew that the girl kept a small bag underneath her bed that was always packed with extra clothes and necessities. When she had discovered it for the first time Skyla had been shocked and almost offended.  
Joanie had been embarrassed and very apologetic but had told her quietly that old habits died hard and that the packed bag was more a source of comfort than actual necessity. Skyla hoped that maybe now Joanie would finally find enough reason and security to unpack it.

There was still a light on in the room and a radio played softly in the background. Glancing at her watch Skyla frowned and carefully stepped into the room.  
"Joanie-Ellen?" she queried softly.  
There was an unintelligent mutter from the bed. Joanie, who had been sleeping on her stomach, turned around and pulled herself into a fetal position. Despite the chill in the air she had kicked off her blankets or, judging by the book underneath her head, she had forgotten to pull them over her.

Smiling Dame Skyla shook her head and made her way to the bed. Careful not to wake the sleeping child she pulled the book out and gently put the covers over her petite dancer's body. She leaned forward and, pushing a strand of hair out of her face kissed the young girl on the forehead before she turned to the radio. Before she could turn it off the words from the song caught her attention.

_Turn around and smell what you don't see _  
_Close your eyes ... it is so clear  
Here's the mirror, under is a screen _

_On both ways you can get in __  
Don't think twice before you listen to your heart  
Follow the trace for a new start  
What you need and everything you'll feel  
Is just a question of the deal  
In the eye of storm you'll see a lonely dove  
The experience of survival is the key  
To the gravity of love _

_  
Try to think about it ...  
That's the chance to live your life and discover  
What it is, what's the gravity of love _

_Look around just people, can you hear their voice  
Find the one who'll guide you to the limits of your choice  
But if you're in the eye of storm  
Just think of the lonely dove  
The experience of survival is the key  
To the gravity of love. _

She finished listening to the song before turning off the radio. Standing in the middle of the room, Skyla looked around her then back to the sleeping form, frowning undecided. Finally, coming to some internal decision she went to the door and closed it. She returned to the bed, taking off her shoes and glove and carefully slipped in underneath the covers, turning off the light as she did so. As if sensing her presence Joanie shifted closer to her until she had her back pressed tightly against her adopted mother's chest. Sighing content she fell back into a deep sleep.  
Placing her arms around the girl, Dame Skyla soon followed suite.

_FIN – The Dance of Lords and Ladies _

_AN: There we go. Done. As usual, I decided to take things completely overboard and instead of just modifying the original story of this I gave it a complete make over. The basic track remained the same but I practically rewrote it where I had thought I would just modify it word for word. I just don't know the meaning of the words: Take it easy… _

_The song is Enigma's Gravity of Love, still one of my ultimate favorites. You can find it on youtube. It's from the Album Love Serenity Devotion. (LSD).  
This is not my last Sky Dancers fic obviously, though I'm hesitant to say when I'll post another. As hard as it is, I've decided to finish my other stories first. In particular, for those of you who's reading it, Children of Darkness needs to draw to a close, I don't want to drag it into another year. But, on the other hand, lol, I already have a trailer for my next Sky Dancers story so knowing me you'll receive the first chapter within the next month. For now, I'll say just keep an eye out. I'm also hoping that maybe with the episodes that I've posted on youtube there will be more authors returning to this fandom so don't forget about it – keep an eye out. I will post another episode hopefully before the end of September if I can find a better internet connection. As it is, I unfortunately can't spend a lot of time online. _

_So, to all of you, thank you for reading this, and thank you for sticking with it. __ You don't want to know how many pages the Sky Dancers stories are already in total on my pc. I look at it and see the evidence that I have no life.  
But, it is an honor and a pleasure. It always will be.  
Thank you for your time and support, you will see/read me again shortly._

Alyssa

_On a last note – this had been the first story that I had finished on fanfiction dot net. Although it has now changed from the original one, completed almost four years ago now, the dedication has not. I will keep it, word for word as I had written it down that very first time. Because, it will always remain true and always in my heart. _

_In dedication: _

_This story is dedicated to a woman named Arlene who had found my lost soul and put me on the path of life without fear, shame or self imposed solitude. Who encouraged me to be who I was, to take chances, share dreams and ultimately pursue them - no matter what others thought or did.  
To the woman who saw beyond the silent child, beyond the mood swings and insecurities - I hope that you are proud, and can smile down on the person whom I have become. _


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